IO Interactive has been having a pretty good time recently. 007 First Light has sold beyond the company’s expectations. On top of that, it has done extremely well wit both fans and critics. But in this world, bad news is never far away.
Speaking on social media, the company has revealed it has pulled the plug on its mysterious “Project Fantasy” game, a roleplaying title it announced back in 2023. The reason? Well, according to the post, “A relationship with an external partner on our own IP, Project Fantasy, has come to an end.”
Cue Jason Schreier, journalist and general bloke who knows things. Schreier states that the unamed partner was none other than Microsoft.
A spokesperson told Schreier that they are “taking a fresh look at where we invest so we’re focusing on our highest priorities”.
“We’re not reducing our overall investment in games,” the spokesperson also said. “We expect to invest about the same in content as we did last year. What’s changing is where we’re investing and the kinds of projects we’re backing.”
The good news is that IO Interactive is still planning on developing and publishing the game, either completely by themselves or pehaps by finding another interested party.
“Project Fantasy is a game, a world, and an IP that we absolutely love and remain 100% committed to, now and in the future. This wonderful universe will see the light of day,” said IO.
Unfortunately, though, it sounds like the cancelled funding means IO is planning on downsizing the developement team: “…we have to adapt to this new reality and its short-term consequences, including staffing decisions, which is what is happening as we write this update, and we are fully committed to supporting those affected through this challenging transition.“
Obviously, this sucks.
But also unsurprising. Xbox is in the midst of what CEO Asha Sharma has described as a “reset”, which is PR speak for multiple studios probably getting closed and thousands of people losing their jobs. Unfortunately, if Xbox has even the slimmest chance of surviving, a mass culling is unavoidable. And it still probably won’t be enough. Announcements are expected to begin rolling in across the next few weeks about layoffs and studio closures.
As for IO Interactive, this is a big blow to them, but at least the project will continue and will hopefully be released sometime in the future. In the meantime, another James Bond game is almost guaranteeed.
WGB 