IO Interactive now fully owns Project Fantasy after split

Good news and grim news rarely arrive in the same breath, but that’s exactly what IO Interactive just delivered.

The studio behind Hitman and 007 First Light has confirmed it now owns Project Fantasy outright, having ended its external finance partnership on the project. No more outside money, no more outside say. Whatever this new IP turns out to be, IOI calls the shots on it entirely.

IO Interactive’s full ownership comes at a cost

That should be the fun bit of the announcement. It isn’t, because the same statement confirms the closure of IOI’s Istanbul studio and the start of a process to part ways with colleagues across the company. That’s a horrible way to win back creative control of your own game.

Dear gaming community,

Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP. We will continue to develop and fund it independently amongst our other projects. With this context, we had to find a new…

— IO Interactive (@IOInteractive) July 7, 2026

IOI framed the split as a deliberate move to focus on its “main internal core titles instead of external projects and potential mobile game derivatives,” which reads like a polite way of saying the previous arrangement wasn’t going where they wanted it to. The statement doesn’t name the former partner, but the timing lines up uncomfortably well with Xbox’s July 2026 layoffs and restructuring, and IO Interactive had already confirmed job losses tied specifically to the end of its Project Fantasy partnership with Xbox.

So this is less “we got our game back” and more “we got our game back, and here’s what it cost.” IO Interactive says its immediate focus is supporting the people affected, and it’s asking anyone in its community with relevant opportunities to help out. That’s the least a studio can do in this situation, but it’s still worth flagging for anyone in games hiring right now.

What’s next for Project Fantasy

As for Project Fantasy itself, IO Interactive is calling it a game, a world, and an IP it’s “wholly committed to,” with more details promised down the line. Given this studio’s track record, I’d bet on it being worth the wait. I just wish the road to full ownership hadn’t gone through a round of layoffs to get there.

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