Xbox Studios Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Compulsion Brace for Closure

The layoffs everyone saw coming now have studio names attached, and they are not the ones you cut to save money. Bloomberg reports Microsoft is preparing to shut or sell Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Compulsion Games, with Arkane Lyon reportedly "scared" it's next, all before the fiscal year closes June 30. Ninja Theory staff were already told the studio is closing and are hunting for a buyer; Double Fine and Compulsion are in active talks to spin off independent rather than disappear. These aren't underperformers padding a portfolio. Compulsion's South of Midnight won awards last year, Ninja Theory made Hellblade, and Double Fine is Tim Schafer's house. When the studios on the chopping block are the critically beloved ones, the "profit-over-volume" reset stops looking like trimming fat and starts looking like Microsoft deciding prestige development isn't worth the headcount.