Xbox pulls out of partnership with Hitman developer IO Interactive

Polygon RSS Feed✍ Austin Manchester📅 June 30, 2026⏱ 2 min read(about 2 months ago)

Overview & Key Takeaways

Xbox was meant to fund and publish IO Interactive, but is now backing out of that deal. As such, IOI may face layoffs.

007 First Light and Hitman 3 developer IO Interactive announced an unexpected project in 2023, an online fantasy RPG. Unlike its last two games, IO Interactive wasn't planning to self-publish the currently named Project Fantasy, but instead work with a third-party to fund and publish it. Turns out that third-party was Xbox, and now Xbox is pulling out of its deal with IO Interactive.

On Tuesday, IO Interactive announced the news in a post on X, but didn't specifically name Microsoft or Xbox, instead saying a "relationship with an external partner on our own IP, Project Fantasy, has come to an end." IO Interactive stated that it will have to make "staffing decisions" in response to its deal falling through, which certainly hints that layoffs are a possibility for the company. "We are fully committed to supporting those affected through this challenging transition," it stated.

It was long suspected Xbox would publish Project Fantasy. Shortly after IO Interactive's announcement, Bloomberg confirmed as such, reporting that the "external partner" was Xbox. According to Bloomberg, Xbox was slated to fund and publish the game, but is now "re-evaluat[ing] investment decisions." An Xbox spokesperson said, "We're not reducing our overall investment in games [...] What's changing is where we're investing and the kinds of projects we're backing."

IO Interactive will continue on developing Project Fantasy. It will either self-publish or seek a new partner to fund and publish the game. As mentioned, IO Interactive developed and published 007 First Light, which was released in May. It rode a wave of positive reviews (and Game of the Year buzz) on the way to 3 million copies sold within a matter of weeks.

Xbox backing out of its deal with IO Interactive comes ahead of potential layoffs throughout the company. Xbox's fiscal year ends on Tuesday, and mass layoffs and likely studio closures are expected in July. Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, and more are all at risk of being shut down and their employees laid off.

Xbox should never have bought the studios it keeps closing

✈ Read Original at Polygon RSS Feed ← Back to All News

More in Xbox, Multi-platform

🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platform

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta Trailer Shows Off Franchise’s Most Ambitious Map Yet

Activision has released a teaser trailer for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 first beta weekend(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-beta-dates-revealed-heres-how-to-get-in/), and it looks pretty great. The trailer shows off some of the content in the beta, and that includes, for the first time in the franchise's history, a slice of the game's single-player campaign. The first beta runs April 21-25, and it's available for those who preorder the game on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The beta allows players to try the campaign mission, Entrenched, along with the modular map Kill Block(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/see-cod-modern-warfare-4s-constantly-changing-kill-block-map-in-action/) (among others). Kill Block, the most ambitious Call of Duty multiplayer map ever(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/see-cod-modern-warfare-4s-constantly-changing-kill-block-map-in-action/), mashes up several fan-favorite Call of Duty maps in a unique way that should keep players on their toes. Modern Warfare 4’s Kill Block is set at the fictional West Bridge Advanced Military Training Facility, where modular battlegrounds reconfigure before every match, creating hundreds of potential map combinations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGQoDkezJ0Y MW4 is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, but the first beta weekend won't be available on that platform because preorders don't begin until August 26 on Nintendo's console, for reasons Activision has not disclosed. The MW4 beta will open to everyone August 28-31, with no preorder requirement. This second period includes the same single-player campaign mission, along with different multiplayer maps, access to the big Ground War mode, and a first opportunity to try Warzone's new Resurgence Zodiac map. MW4 launches on October 23, which is about a month before GTA 6 arrives on November 19. The game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Switch 2. It's the first Call of Duty game on a Nintendo platform since 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts. It's also the first Call of Duty game since Ghosts to skip PS4 and Xbox One. MW4 is also notable because, unlike Black Ops 7 and Black Ops 6 before it, the game will not launch directly into Xbox Game Pass as part of Microsoft's shifting multiplatform release strategy.

🎮 Call of Duty🎮 Modern Warfare

GameSpotNewsabout 18 hours ago

🟩 Xbox, Multi-platform

2024’s Greatest Roguelike Is a Must-Play on Xbox Game Pass

Balatro may look like a simple riff on poker, but beneath its simple pixel-art surface lies an engine for boundless experimentation.

🎮 s Greatest Roguelike

PolygonNewsabout 19 hours ago

🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platform

Mistfall Hunter Players Are Begging For This One Addition, And The Devs Just Won’t Do It

Mistfall Hunter(https://www.gamespot.com/games/mistfall-hunter/) has been out for almost three weeks now, with the extraction brawler launching on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on July 29. Dating back to even its open beta, the community has been begging developer Bellring Games for one addition: a dedicated mode for teams of two. All over the game's official subreddit(https://www.reddit.com/r/MistfallHunter/) are posts from players asking that the developer include a duos mode. "I need duos," Redditor broman510 titled an August 11 post(https://www.reddit.com/r/MistfallHunter/comments/1vh8nrv/ineedduos/). "In this, duos vs trios seems so hard and almost impossible; most of the time one of us is getting jumped by 2 and poked down by one." "We need duos," Matta114 posted on August 17(https://www.reddit.com/r/MistfallHunter/comments/1vqkbwt/weneedduosdothedevsreadthissubreddit/). "I don't care if the game is balanced for trios. I'll take unbalanced duos over trios with some random 3rd dude that runs the opposite direction every game." "Upvote for duos," wrote PuwudleRS in an August 8 post that generated 1.3 upvotes(https://www.reddit.com/r/MistfallHunter/comments/1vioube/upvoteforduos/). "I am addicted to this game, but I CRAVE the duo experience this game has to offer. Please devs, I am begging with my life." The common complaint from the community is that duos would allow friends more flexibility when playing together. Not everyone has two other people online at the same time and willing to play the same game. You can queue into trios, but you and your bestie will get a random third fill-in--and randoms are oftentimes unpredictable and unreliable. "Between the lack of comms from randoms, to people flaking out in fights and leaving their teammates die, to the stealing all the loot (especially if the third is a melee and they can grab the bodies first)," Redditor kennypeace wrote on August 5(https://www.reddit.com/r/MistfallHunter/comments/1vgaxpd/gameisgreatbutneedsduoqueueurgently/). "The amount of times I've died, watching someone loot a dead player, whilst their teammates are fighting for their lives, is unbearable. Three stack is miserable at the moment, and I'm not even gonna mention the bloody lag (in Europe, hope you Americans are faring better over there) that may be helped by lowering the team count." Unfortunately, the community's call may never be answered. Back in March 2026, developer Bellring Games took to X(https://x.com/MistfallHunter/status/2029389233832730625) to share that it currently has "no plans" to add a duos mode to Mistfall Hunter. Even though the studio knows it's a "highly requested feature," duos would impact the game's matchmaking efficiency. "More importantly, it would exacerbate balance issues," Bellring Games said. "It is difficult to ensure balanced gameplay for duos while also maintaining balance for trio and solo modes. For now, we are prioritizing other areas of development." Redditors have called for users to "make a suggestion for duo queues" in the Discord, and now the support-hub server is rife with users begging the team to add duos. Aside from the official statement posted on X, Bellring Games hasn't said anything else regarding a duos mode. It appears this tug-of-war will probably go on for a while. At least Mistfall Hunter is a cool experience, a fascinating amalgam of souls-like combat and extraction shooter elements to create something of an extraction brawler. It's made me a believer in extraction games(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mistfall-hunter-has-made-me-a-believer-in-extraction-games/) as a whole.

GameSpotNewsabout 20 hours ago

← Back to GameSky Home