Two Former Xbox Studios Confirm Their Independence And Plans For The Future

Following Microsoft's announcement that it was parting ways with four studios—Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs—two of those teams have now officially confirmed that they have completed their splits and secured their independence. Leadership from both Double Fine and Compulsion Games have spoken publicly about what this transition means for their upcoming projects, publishing rights, and ongoing game catalogs.

Double Fine's Tim Schafer appeared on an episode of the Kinda Funny Games podcast to discuss the studio's new path forward. Schafer confirmed that the studio is getting publishing rights back to all of their games. While purchases of their titles will directly support the studio moving forward rather than Microsoft, players might still see Xbox Game Studios listed as the publisher for some time as administrative processes clear. Additionally, Double Fine announced plans to host a Game Jam, a documentary, and a Kickstarter campaign where backers can vote on ideas to be turned into four new prototypes, with one ultimately becoming a full game. Other unannounced projects are currently in development, and the recent release of Kiln will continue to receive new maps and modes.

Alongside these announcements, Double Fine shared updates concerning upcoming permanent price changes for Kiln and Keeper, international price adjustment reviews for all Steam titles, and an upcoming anniversary sale for Psychonauts 2. Meanwhile, Compulsion Games CEO Guillaume Provost confirmed to GamesBeat that the team is in the process of reacquiring all of their intellectual property back from Microsoft. Provost described the management buyout as a gracious exit on Microsoft's part, noting that the team's primary focus for the South of Midnight developer is to take things slow, meet with everyone, and continue creating interesting and unconventional stories and worlds.

As Double Fine and Compulsion Games transition into independent operations, the gaming community awaits further updates from the remaining departed teams, including Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, regarding their future plans.