Montréal-based developer Compulsion Games is among the studios that were officially divested from Microsoft's Xbox last week. Indeed, Compulsion Games (like Double Fine Productions) was sold back to its own management and has therefore returned to full independence, but that does not mean they won't need partners.
In fact, they haven't wasted any time at all in opening the search. A few hours ago, the official LinkedIn account of the studio posted the following call-out message to fellow industry members:
With Compulsion Games returning to its roots as an independent developer, we are expanding opportunities to collaborate with studios across the games and entertainment industry.
We invite partners to leverage the talent and creativity of the award-winning team behind South of Midnight, a game that was honored with a BAFTA Award, a Peabody Award, seven Canadian Game Awards, and recognized on multiple ‘Best Games of 2025’ lists.
With deep experience in creating acclaimed original IP, we bring our artistry, technical expertise, and collaborative approach to every project. We are excited to support the development of memorable experiences that engage and entertain players around the world.
The struggle resumes for Compulsion Games, then. Like Double Fine, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory, the other studios set to leave Xbox shortly one way or another, the Canadian team has always had to partner with different publishers. Its debut title, the puzzle-platform game Contrast, was published by Focus Home Entertainment, while its second game, the action/adventure We Happy Few, was published by Gearbox.
It's not easy to find financial security in this industry, which is likely why Compulsion accepted Xbox's proposal back in 2018. For its part, Xbox sought to expand its Game Pass portfolio with the artsy games the Canadian studio had shown they could make.
Unfortunately, South of Midnight took a long time to launch (it debuted last year, almost seven years after We Happy Few) and, despite garnering some acclaim, did not move the sales needle or even attract enough Game Pass subscribers to make a difference, even after the PlayStation 5 and Switch 2 ports from this March.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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