Compulsion Games began looking for partners not long after exiting the gaming arm of Microsoft. The studio — the team behind South of Midnight — put out an appeal aimed at developers and companies in the industry, pitching collaboration on upcoming projects.
Around the same time, Microsoft revealed a sweeping restructure at XBOX; some internal groups were sold off or spun out. Compulsion Games, which had joined XBOX in 2018, negotiated a way to leave the division and walk away with the rights to its main IPs — see Contrast, We Happy Few, and South of Midnight.
In that outreach, the team made a point of saying they can bring experienced hands to partners, citing the crew behind the award-winning South of Midnight. They mention skills across the board — art, code, narrative, and co-dev workflows — e.g., design prototyping, engine work, story integration; nothing is presented as a one-size-fits-all offer. The tone felt practical, with a little pride and a touch of openness: the studio wants to help other teams build projects that stick with players worldwide.
With Compulsion Games returning to its roots as an independent studio, we are expanding opportunities for collaboration with companies in the gaming and entertainment industry. We invite partners to leverage the experience, talent, and creative potential of our team — the creators of South of Midnight, a game honored with BAFTA, Peabody, seven Canadian Game Awards, and featured on numerous best games of 2025 lists. We have extensive experience in building successful original franchises and are ready to bring artistic mastery, technical expertise, and an open approach to collaborative development to every project. We are enthusiastically ready to assist in creating memorable projects that will engage and delight players around the world.
Last week the studio also publicly thanked XBOX for allowing them to become independent again. They say they’ll keep making the kinds of games people associate with the name, and that creative priorities — story, characters, and offbeat ideas — will remain central to their work. It reads as both a promise and a little personal relief; whether partners will flock right away is another question, but the offer is now on the table.