Following Xbox Cuts, Bond and Hitman Developer IO Interactive Confirms It Is Closing a Studio and Beginning Layoffs

'These are hard, but necessary decisions' — Xbox pulled funding for Io Interactive's 'Project Fantasy' but the developer will continue working on the game independently

IO Interative has regained the rights to its online fantasy RPG, Project FantasyXbox pulled funding from the project, ending its parternship with the 007 First Light studioIOI will continue working independently on the project, but a studio will be closed down and some workers will be laid offLast week, 007 First Light and Hitman developer Io Interactive confirmed that it had ended its relationship with an external financial backer for Project F…

Following Xbox Cuts, Bond and Hitman Developer IO Interactive Confirms It is Closing a Studio and Beginning Layoffs

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007 First Light Confirms Layoffs and Istanbul Studio Closure, but Says Project Fantasy Will Continue Independently

IO Interactive has announced layoffs and the closure of its Istanbul studio as part of a broader restructuring following the loss of external funding for its up

After Xbox Pulls Funding, Hitman Dev Is Closing A Studio And Laying People Off

Hitman and 007: First Light developer IO Interactive has confirmed that it is closing its Istanbul office, laying off staff in the process as part of cuts that the studio said were "necessary" to help the company stay afloat in the future. IO said it made these cuts after Xbox dropped out of funding Project Fantasy, the company's mysterious upcoming RPG. IO has now "regained full ownership of the project and our IP" related to Project Fantasy, a…

IO Interactive Shuts Down Istanbul Studio Months After 007 First Light Smash Hit

IO Interactive recently confirmed that the end of "a relationship with an external partner," now known to be Xbox Game Studios, meant that the studio would no longer have the funding it required to work on a game known as Project Fantasy with its current staff. On July 7, IO Interactive expanded on the round of layoffs it previously confirmed, announcing in a post on X that it would be closing its Istanbul studio and laying off an undisclosed nu…

IO Interactive Doubles Down on Project Fantasy Funding Alone After Xbox Bails, Shuttering Its Istanbul Office to Survive

Last week, IO Interactive announced that it was forced to cut some of its staff after Xbox abandoned funding for the Project Fantasy IP, first revealed over three years ago. Today, the developer has confirmed that it regained complete control of the intellectual property and the project, which it still wants to fund out of its own pockets. However, the downside is that the Istanbul studio, which opened in March 2023, will have to shutter. Follow…