Although 007: First Light seems like a major success story, Xbox’s significant strategy shift is still seeing the company pull back from its investment in IO Interactive’s next project.
Xbox No Longer Investing in ‘Project Fantasy’
IO Interactive should still be riding the high of the critically and commercially successful launch of 007: First Light, but unfortunately the developer was just hit with some bad news regarding one of its next games.
In a post on social media, IO Interactive revealed that Project Fantasy had lost a major external partner and that the change would impact staffing decisions and have short-term consequences.
“A relationship with an external partner on our own IP, Project Fantasy, has come to an end. This means we have to adapt to this new reality and its short-term consequences, including staffing decisions, which is what is happening as we write this update, and we are fully committed to supporting those affected through this challenging transition.”
As soon as the post was public, the video game community pretty quickly pieced together that the ‘external partner’ was Xbox. This aligns with the overall narrative over the last few weeks of Xbox preparing to fully reevaluate all of its investments and make some major stategic changes in how it is spending money.
Not long after the original post from IO Interactive, Jason Schreier at Bloomberg managed to get confirmation from an Xbox spokesperson:
“[Xbox is] taking a fresh look at where we invest so we’re focusing on our highest priorities,”
“We’re not reducing our overall investment in games. 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.”
What this means for the future of Project Fantasy is unclear at this time. Hopefully IO Interactive will still be able to finish the project, but for that to happen it sounds like the company many need to find new partners or investors.
As for the future of Xbox, the next few weeks should reveal the extend to how significant the rumored layoffs are going to be. The new fiscal quarter began on July 1, so it is likely some changes will become public knowledge in the very near future.
Be sure to check back soon for more updates on what is next for IO Interactive and Xbox.
Project Fantasy does not have an official title or release window at this time.
The post Xbox Pulls Funding from 007: First Light Developer’s New Game appeared first on VICE.
