Compulsion Games' Independence: What's Next for South of Midnight?

Remember when South of Midnight blew you away earlier this year? Well, the studio behind that hit just dropped a bombshell. Compulsion Games is officially no longer an Xbox studio, and as a team and as players, that's a big deal for you.

So what happened? After Microsoft confirmed it was cutting ties with five studios, Compulsion president Guillaume Provost has now confirmed the split is complete. Management bought the studio, and Microsoft handed back the IP. That means if you buy South of Midnight on Steam, the cash goes straight to Compulsion, not Xbox. Pretty cool, right?

Provost told GamesBeat that the team really wanted to stay together. He even asked them directly, and their answer was epic. "We'd rather eat rocks and drink gasoline than split up." That's dedication. Some developers left after being warned about a possible shutdown, but most of the senior staff stayed.

Now Compulsion is already working on a new unannounced game that was in progress before the split. But here's the catch: since Microsoft was the one bringing in the money, Provost is meeting with potential backers to secure the studio's future. Compared to everyone losing their jobs in July, they're playing it cool, saying they'll take it slow. Day 6, this is a pretty good deal.

Were other studios affected too? Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Arkane. Double Fine also went independent, and Tim Schafer will talk about their future on a livestream today. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs were sold to a mystery buyer, and Arkane is sorting things out under French labor law. In the new Xbox, it's all part of a massive "reset" by CEO Asha Sharma, who has already overseen thousands of layoffs.

This means support for Compulsion now goes directly to the developers. It's a win for the indie spirit. But can they succeed without the safety net of a big corporation? Only time will tell.

What do you think about Compulsion going solo? Are you excited to see what they cook up next?