Three Xbox studios in negotiations to avoid closure

The news broke this week that Xbox is planning to close several of its game studios. Now, according to an updated report from Jason Schreier, several of the studios in question are in active negotiations to buy themselves out, including Compulsion Games, Double Fine and Ninja Theory.

There had also been rumours that Arkane could be hit by the closures, but Shreier's report only mentions Compulsion, Double Fine and Ninja Theory. According to the report, all three of these companies are in “active negotiations” to avoid closure, but if they can't come up with a buyer, or stump up the cash to go independent, then they'll end up shutting their doors. Even if they do succeed in avoiding closure, it is claimed that all three studios would likely undergo significant layoffs as a result.

The news of Ninja Theory facing closure is particularly surprising, as they just announced a new Hellblade game, simply titled ‘Senua', at the Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month, with a release date set for 2027. It is unclear if Senua is being cancelled or if Xbox still plans on releasing it.

It wouldn't be the first time that Xbox has cancelled a major game shortly after its reveal though, Phantom Dust was infamously cancelled shortly after being announced as an Xbox One exclusive during the console's first couple of years on the market.

While Double Fine had some success with Psychonauts 2, the company has not had a sales hit since, while also being one of the more expensive studios to run due to it being based in San Francisco. Compulsion Games has also struggled to find sales success with its most recent release, South of Midnight.

These changes are expected to be part of a wider restructuring at Xbox, which has already involved several studio closures in recent years.

KitGuru Says: It is disappointing to see more studio closures happening, but the cost of running even small studios has ballooned dramatically at this point.

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