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Compulsion Games’ buyout is complete, so now Microsoft won’t get a cut if you buy South of Midnight
Compulsion Games has completed a management buyout from Microsoft, becoming independent again after eight years within Xbox Game Studios. The deal matters because the Montreal developer has regained ownership and publishing rights to its games, meaning future revenue from titles such as South of Midnight will go to Compulsion rather than Microsoft.
Microsoft acquired Compulsion in 2018, but the studio was later affected by Xbox’s wider restructuring and job cuts. Chief executive Guillaume Provost said the buyout covers the studio, its staff and its original intellectual property, including Contrast, We Happy Few and South of Midnight; ownership has already changed on Steam, while transfers on other storefronts remain in progress.
In short
- Compulsion Games is independent after buying itself out of Microsoft.
- It now owns South of Midnight and its other original games.
- Storefront ownership transfers are still being completed.
Explained simply
Compulsion Games is a Montreal-based video game studio founded in 2009. Microsoft bought it in 2018 and made it part of Xbox Game Studios, the group of developers behind games for Xbox and other platforms.
The studio’s games include Contrast, We Happy Few and South of Midnight. In a management buyout, a company’s managers buy control of the business; here, the deal includes Compulsion’s staff and its original games. Control of the studio and publishing rights determine who can sell those games and receive the revenue.
The change matters because Compulsion can now decide how to publish its games and keep the revenue they generate, rather than sharing it with Microsoft as their owner. It also follows wider changes at Xbox, including restructuring and job cuts that affected the studio.