Ett dussin Compulsion Games-anställda går mot utgången efter uppsägningar från Xbox

At least a dozen people have left South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games this week, days after reports that Xbox is planning major restructuring with significant layoffs and possible studio closures. Eurogamer spotted the pattern in a run of LinkedIn posts from former Compulsion staff over the past week, at least one of whom said the job loss came without warning.

The departures span senior roles. Principal level designer Mike Sklavounos wrote that he had turned on the open-to-work banner in an unexpected turn of events. Former principal game designer Thomas de Rego marked five years at the studio before looking for a new adventure. Game writer and narrative designer Bijan Stephen, senior technical artist Marc-André Voyer, senior environment artist Jasjot Singh, technical animator Ines Bouakkaoui, and dialogue designer Sean M. all posted similar notices, the last of them citing nearly six years at Compulsion. At least five more people who worked there now list themselves as open to work without naming the studio directly.

What the exits mean for Compulsion as a whole is unclear. Some staff still appear employed based on their LinkedIn profiles. South of Midnight's credits list 115 internal Compulsion staff on the game, and LinkedIn currently counts 111 people at the studio, so the visible departures represent real disruption without confirming a wind-down.

Compulsion is the Canadian studio behind We Happy Few and South of Midnight, the Southern American folklore adventure that won a Peabody award and a BAFTA for best new intellectual property. Microsoft acquired it in 2018 during a large acquisition spree, shortly before We Happy Few launched.

I run a channel built around open-world games, so I read studio credits the way some people read box scores, and the gap between 115 names on the game and a dozen public exits in a single week is the detail worth holding onto, because that ratio is what separates a reorganization from a closure. I think the timing matters more than any single LinkedIn post here, since the departures land in the exact window Xbox's restructuring reports describe rather than spread across a normal quarter.

The context is the part that gives the exits weight. The moves follow reports that Microsoft is planning significant layoffs across its Xbox gaming division, potentially including the closure of multiple studios. Compulsion was named among the studios at risk, alongside Psychonauts and Keeper developer Double Fine. Ninja Theory and Arkane Studios, makers of Hellblade and Dishonored respectively, have also surfaced in those closure reports, with The Verge reporting Xbox decided to shut Ninja Theory and a BFM journalist describing Arkane's closure as closer than expected. Microsoft has confirmed none of it.

Bloomberg reported that Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine had begun talks with Xbox about going independent to avoid closure, with Jason Schreier noting those are not the only Xbox studios at risk. The initial claim of two endangered studios came from Insider Gaming's Mike Straw, who said one closure would shock players before deleting the post and apologizing. Kotaku separately reported Xbox planned to shut Compulsion, the studio that won seven awards including Game of the Year at the Canadian Game Awards. Around the same time, The Game Business confirmed Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan left after less than two years.

Whether this week's departures are the leading edge of that restructuring or a separate churn is not yet established. Microsoft has issued no official statement on Compulsion's status, which leaves the LinkedIn record as the clearest available signal.

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