IO Interactive Closes Its Istanbul Studio After Loss Of Funding – WGB
There’s a saying here in the UK: it’s not raining, but it’s pouring. In other words, bad news is never alone. For example, IO Interactive has announced the closure of one of its studios following the loss of Project Fantasy.
This news is not unexpected, as last week IO Interactive said, “The relationship with our external IP partner, Project Fantasy, has ended.”
That “foreign partner” is apparently Xbox, according to Jason Schreier. A Microsoft spokesperson even gave Schreier a canned response to the news, saying “they’re reevaluating where we’re investing to focus on our priorities.”
Neither Xbox nor IO Interactive has fully confirmed the compatibility, but the spokesperson’s comments make it a safe bet. Xbox has begun massive layoffs, and is eliminating at least four studios.
When the news was revealed, IO Interactive also said, “we have to adapt to this new reality and its short-term consequences, including personnel decisions”, which sounds very bad.
Today, IO has confirmed what we all feared at the time: it is closing its Istanbul studio.
“After the end of our external financial partnership in Project Fantasy, IOI regained full ownership of the project and our IP. We will continue to develop and finance it independently among other projects,” wrote IO Interactive. “In this context, we had to find a new balance for the long-term future of this studio, focusing on the success of our main internal titles instead of external projects and possible derivatives of the mobile game. This means making changes and proposed changes in all our studios: the closure of our Istanbul studio and starting the process of parting with partners who have been an important part of what makes IOI.”
The company reiterates that Project Fantasy is always in active development and that it retains full rights to the IP.
“These are difficult, but necessary, decisions to preserve the long-term future of IO Interactive as one of the few fully independent AAA developers and publishers, as well as to give Project Fantasy the best possible foundation to succeed under our inspiration and guidance. Project Fantasy is a game, world, and IP that we are completely dedicated to, and we can’t wait to share the love with you.”
The Istanbul studio was founded in 2023 with the goal of becoming a triple-A developer center in Turkey, and was intended to play a major role in both the development of 007 First Light and the upcoming Project Fantasy. IO Interactive has not confirmed the number of expected job losses, and I have not been able to find reliable information about how many people work there. The only source I could find is Revelio, which says there are 42 IO Interactive employees in Turkey.
