“The team told me we would rather eat rocks and drink gasoline than be split up”, says CEO
We Happy Few and South of Midnight developers Compulsion Games have announced that they are fully broken up with Microsoft and Xbox, after completing a management buyout. They now once again own the rights to all their own original intellectual properties. Amongst other things, this means that you can buy South of Midnight – summarised by Brendy (RPS in peace) as “a beautiful folkloric tale” and a “plain and unambitious” action-adventure – while still taking part in the BDS boycott against Microsoft’s Israeli military connections. When you buy the Steam version of South of Midnight, all your money (after Valve’s revenue cut) will go to Compulsion.
Back in July, Microsoft announced that they were laying off around 3200 people, while spinning out or selling off five of their best-known studios. Compulsion aside, Psychonauts developers Double Fine have regained their independence, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have been bought by unknown parties. Dishonored developers Arkane are presently thrashing out the terms of their exit in accordance with French labour law.
“We’re confirming we’re getting all of our publishing rights back,” Compulsion CEO Guillaume Provost told Gamesbeat this week, with the caveat that it will take more time to transfer ownership of Compulsion’s games on platforms beyond Steam, such as Switch and PlayStation.
Provost wouldn’t be drawn on the exact terms of Compulsion’s management buyout, other than to say that it could have been worse. “Everything is relative,” he said. “Compared to all of us losing our jobs on July 6, this is a pretty good deal. I would say the exit was gracious on Microsoft’s part.” Microsoft have, in one of their brighter moments, supplied Compulsion and Double Fine with “runway” (i.e. some financial assistance) for their on-going careers as independents.
Provost wasn’t able to confirm how many of Compulsion’s workforce remain. A few people left or began looking for other jobs when Provost told them the studio might be closed, though most of the team leaders have apparently stayed on.
“I did this deal for the team first and foremost,” Provost explained to Gamebeat. “I asked the team, ‘Do you want to stay together?’ The team told me we would rather eat rocks and drink gasoline than be split up.”
Provost is now meeting with other companies to discuss opportunities, potentially including collaborations on other licences, even as the rest of Compulsion continue work on an unannounced project they were creating for Microsoft, prior to the great Xbox reset-alypse. Provost and the other Compulsion higher-ups are naturally thinking hard about what they can afford to do, now that Compulsion no longer have access to Microsoft’s resources. “I just want to make sure that we’re setting the team up for success,” he said. “We’re going to take things slow. We’re going to meet with everyone.”
Provost noted Compulsion have been in a place like this before – they were founded in 2009, right in the teeth of a worldwide recession. “Starting ventures when times are tough means the companies start to build the right bones,” he said. “They understand the need for being thrifty and lean because of the economic context. I think we’ll have really solid bones.”
I hate talk of lean management, myself. I imagine surviving members of Compulsion might read that and wonder whether they qualify as the “bones” or surplus fat and vestigial tissue. Still, it’s great to see Compulsion making a fresh start. With regard to their existing catalogue, I’ve not played South of Midnight but I’ve read warm responses to the game’s representations of Black culture in the Deep South. I’m interested to compare it to We Happy Few, a very British dystopia marinated in Monty Python and A Clockwork Orange.
As for the other former Microsoft studios, Double Fine have said they’ll share more about their own future later today. We’re still waiting for news from Ninja Theory, Arkane and Undead Labs.
