IO Interactive has regained full ownership of Project Fantasy following the end of the game’s external finance partnership, and the studio says it will now develop and fund the online fantasy RPG independently alongside its other projects. Holding onto the IP came at a cost, though. As part of what the studio calls “hard, but necessary decisions,” IOI is closing its Istanbul studio and starting a process to part ways with employees across the company.
For those who haven’t been following along, IOI announced Project Fantasy back in February 2023 as an online fantasy RPG set in an original universe, inspired by classic tabletop role-playing games. The studio has never named its finance partner on the project, but Bloomberg reported it was Microsoft, and the funding fell through just ahead of the biggest restructure in XBOX history, which is cutting 3,200 jobs. IOI disclosed the end of the partnership last week and warned then that staffing decisions would follow. Today’s statement makes all that official.
The cuts land on a company that had spent the past several years expanding. IOI grew from its Copenhagen headquarters to five studios, opening Malmö in 2019, Barcelona in 2021, and both Istanbul and Brighton in 2023. Reports put the Istanbul closure at roughly 40 jobs, and the layoffs reportedly reach into IOI’s other offices as well, including people who worked on 007 First Light. The studio is asking anyone with opportunities in their network to share them with affected employees.
The restructuring comes only weeks after 007 First Light launched on May 27, IOI’s first time self-publishing a project of that size. In my review, I called it a playable Bond movie and one of the better examples of story-driven third-person action we’ve gotten in years. The statement frames the changes as a focus on IOI’s main internal titles instead of external projects and potential mobile derivatives. The studio already parted ways with MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy earlier this year, and the classic Hitman trilogy remasters announced last month are being handled externally by Saber Interactive.
IOI says the moves are meant to preserve its position as one of the few fully independent AAA developers and publishers, and that it remains “wholly committed” to Project Fantasy. No release window has been shared for the game, which now has to succeed with IOI footing the bill on its own.
