IO Interactive Shuts Down Studio and Cuts Staff Following Xbox Funding Withdrawal
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
IO Interactive is closing a studio and laying off staff after Xbox pulled financial support for their long-running online RPG project, Project Dragon.
IO Interactive, the studio behind the Hitman series and the upcoming Project 007, is closing one of its development locations and laying off staff. Originally reported by Tom Phillips at IGN South Africa, the cuts follow a decision by Xbox to pull funding for Project Dragon. This under-wraps online fantasy RPG had been in development for years with backing from Microsoft.
Project Dragon fell victim to a wider wave of corporate tightening. Microsoft has been cutting thousands of jobs, offloading internal teams, and pulling back on external publishing partnerships across the board. For a studio like IO Interactive, losing a major publishing partner mid-development shows just how volatile modern game creation has become, even for established teams with major franchises on their rosters.
This news hits the community hard as another reminder of the ongoing instability facing developers across the industry. When corporate strategy shifts at the platform holder level, the people making the games shoulder the heaviest cost. It is a sobering reality for players who care about the long term health of the studios behind our favorite virtual worlds.
Tags: IO Interactive, Xbox, Industry News, Game Development, Layoffs
Original article: IGN South Africa