Microsoft Corp’s Xbox has pulled out of a deal to fund and publish a game with IO Interactive, the maker of Hitman and the recent hit 007 First Light, as it re-evaluates investment decisions.
IO Interactive will continue to develop the game, which is code-named Project Fantasy. But the privately held Danish game maker will have to find other funding or publish the game itself.
Xbox is "taking a fresh look at where we invest so we’re focusing on our highest priorities,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg News.
"We're not reducing our overall investment in games,” the spokesperson 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.”
In a statement on social media, IO Interactive said it has "to adapt to this new reality and its short-term consequences, including staffing decisions.” IO Interactive announced it was working on the role-playing game Project Fantasy in early 2023.
The cancellation of the deal arrives as Xbox prepares for significant job cuts that are expected to begin July 6. New chief executive officer Asha Sharma, who took the job in February, is overseeing what she has called a "reset” that may lead to the closure of several subsidiaries.
IO Interactive’s 007 First Light, which was released in May, was critically acclaimed and sold more than three million copies. – Bloomberg
