Xbox shakes up leadership as Compulsion Games faces possible shutdown

Microsoft may be shutting down Compulsion Games, the studio behind South of Midnight and We Happy Few, Kotaku says. Studio leadership is in negotiations with Microsoft over the potential closure. The team includes more than 90 developers, and South of Midnight, released last year, won a BAFTA for best new IP, a Peabody for its writing, and awards for animation at D.I.C.E.

and elsewhere. The news comes hours after Craig Duncan stepped down as head of Xbox Game Studios after 18 months. Duncan oversaw Halo Studios, Rare, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Double Fine and Compulsion Games, and previously ran Rare for almost 14 years, presiding over the Kinect and Sea of Thieves.

Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O’Connor will also leave the company. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty told staff last week that, outside Activision Blizzard, the company invested $20 billion over the past five years while revenue declined by about a half-billion.

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