Xbox layoffs fallout: ‘South of Midnight’ creator Compulsion Games successfully goes independent

(Compulsion Games image) One of the video game studios impacted by Xbox’s layoffs in July has successfully reclaimed its independence, as well as control over its intellectual property. Compulsion Games , headquartered in Montreal, was founded as an independent studio in 2009 and acquired by Xbox in 2018. Its one release as a member of the Xbox Games Studio network was 2025’s South of Midnight , an action/adventure game set in a magical Deep South.