UPDATE, from a separate article by Jason Schreier: Compulsion, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory are all in active negotiations with Microsoft. Depending on how that goes, studios may be closed or spun off. I figured rather than also posting the Schreier article, I’ll wait until the dust settles on these deals. This is a bloodbath.
Not the only ones. There are supposedly at least 3 studios considered for closure, among which is also Obsidian.
I feel like microbrain wants to offload costs of making games unto crowdfunded indies and just reap the profits on its store/platform.
I haven’t heard Obsidian added to the list; just Arkane. But word from Sharma was that they’re doubling down on their biggest franchises, like Fallout, Halo, and Elder Scrolls, at the expense of smaller stuff. That’s the same strategy EA, Ubisoft, and other publishers their size followed until they realized that there’s nothing to replace the core franchises once their popularity wanes; then they found someone to buy the company off of them.
Oh good, so exactly what everybody wants not to happen. Can’t wait for Yet Another Goddamn Franchise Entry.
I’m honestly sorry for all the developers that Microsoft acquired in their buying spree around before and during 2020.
Same for all Indies bought up by larger companies. At best they seem to get broken up and dispersed in the company. Most just seem to be ballast used to pad stock value, then tossed when it’s the least bit beneficial to their owners.
I saw this one coming, sadly. Xbox announced they’re laying off people, and while I like Compulsion Games it’s predictable that they’re getting the boot.
They made 3 games in the last 13 years and none of them have been big hits.
2013: Contrast (mediocre reviews)
2018: We Happy Few (messy development, mediocre reviews)
2025: South of Midnight (decent reviews, reportedly underperformed)
Not a surprise that South of Midnight underperformed. That game looks very niche to me. Southern Gothic folklore, combat and traversal gameplay basic and not innovative, levels are just swamps. The game definitely misses mass appeal with the typical gamer crowd and unfortunately a black female protagonist doesn’t help either. Sure not every game needs to have mass appeal but this game looks way too expensive to find success with just a niche audience. Like this game probably only appealed to a subset of a subset of the American gamers market. I doubt they had high sales numbers in Europe and Asia.
Sure, the story and gameplay were nothing to write home about. But the soundtrack was pretty good
I thought the story/world building were decent and the graphics/animation style were cool and engaging, but yeah the only standout thing was the soundtrack.
Honestly, if the game came out in the 360/ps3 era it would have been a hit, but the gameplay just felt so dated.
It sure feels like I’m the only person on the planet who actually, positively enjoyed Contrast.
There are at least two of us!
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