Xbox studio closures 🎮 ARC Raiders tiny team 🚀 Don't Nod cash crisis 💸

Top Stories

Xbox is reportedly considering closing South of Midnight studio, Compulsion Games, with Double Fine and Ninja Theory also allegedly at risk (2 min read)

Microsoft is reportedly considering closing Compulsion Games, developer of South of Midnight and We Happy Few, with studio leadership in negotiations with Microsoft over its fate. Bloomberg reports several other Xbox studios, including Double Fine and Ninja Theory, face similar closure talks as management attempts to spin them off. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma noted the division has spent over $20 billion in five years while revenue dropped roughly $500 million annually. Xbox Games Studios boss Craig Duncan and his chief of staff departed this week. (GamesIndustry.biz)

ARC Raiders’ entire 3D content was made by a team of around 20 people, with tools to create scenes in as little as 20 minutes (3 min read)

Embark Studios created *ARC Raiders*' entire 3D content with a team of around 20 people—15 on world content, four on characters—using custom tools to accelerate production. A library of real-world landscape data and automated low-poly conversion from high-resolution RealityScan photography enable landscape scenes in as little as 20 minutes. Additional tools auto-generate details like grass and pebbles, while procedural systems convert simple grey boxes into detailed buildings and extraction points in hours rather than days, allowing the small team to avoid bottlenecks and focus on creative work. (Dot Esports)

Auditors warn Don't Nod will run out of cash by November if it is unable to secure financing (2 min read)

Don't Nod's auditors warn the French studio will exhaust its €8.8 million cash reserve by November 2026 without additional financing. The company has sought funding from Tencent, its 41.9% shareholder, for several months without success; Tencent declined both a capital increase and co-production financing. Chair Oskar Guilbert is in talks with other major industry players but has not secured commitments. The studio was expecting a response from a major partner by end of May 2026. (GamesIndustry.biz)

Studios & People

Report: Two former Rare execs are leaving Xbox (2 min read)

Craig Duncan, head of Xbox Game Studios, and Louise O'Connor, Xbox Game Studios chief of staff, are departing after 18 months and under a year in their roles respectively. Both are former Rare veterans; Duncan spent 14 years there, O'Connor over two decades. (Game Developer)

Treyarch Head Mark Gordon Steps Down from Call of Duty Studio (1 min read)

Treyarch studio head Mark Gordon is stepping down after 22 years. Yale Miller and Kevin Hendrickson will serve as co-studio heads. Gordon's departure follows design director David Vonderhaar's exit to start his own studio. (IGN)

Santa Ragione Reveals That Horses Has Left The Studio In $42,000 Worth Of Debt (3 min read)

Santa Ragione's surrealist horror game Horses generated $100,000 in revenue across GOG, Itch, and Humble from 30,000 sales, but left the studio $42,000 in debt after paying the director $30,000 and returning $62,000 to private funders. (Kotaku)

Culture & Community

HR veteran Liz Prince awarded MBE for services to the games industry and diversity (2 min read)

Liz Prince, 30-year recruitment veteran at Amiqus, received an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours for services to the games industry and diversity. She founded G Into Gaming in 2018 and co-founded Empower Up to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion across UK studios. (GamesIndustry.biz)

TIGA appoints nine industry veterans to board of directors (1 min read)

TIGA appointed nine industry veterans to its board of directors, strengthening the UK trade body's ability to advocate for games companies. The move follows Nellyvision director Elaine Green's appointment as chair earlier this year. (GamesIndustry.biz)

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