{"id":2031282,"date":"2026-07-07T14:53:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2031282"},"modified":"2026-07-07T14:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:53:14","slug":"io-interactive-regains-full-ownership-of-project-fantasy-following-end-of-xbox-deal-shuts-down-istanbul-studio-and-lays-off-developers-to-find-a-new-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2031282","title":{"rendered":"IO Interactive regains full ownership of Project Fantasy following end of Xbox deal, shuts down Istanbul studio and lays off developers &#8220;to find a new balance&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">IO Interactive regains full ownership of Project Fantasy following end of Xbox deal, shuts down Istanbul studio and lays off developers &#8220;to find a new balance&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Good job no one did his bidding.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/bond-poolside-flirt.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"007: First Light - Theresa Lorca meets James Bond\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"bond-poolside-flirt.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>IO Interactive<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-07T14:53:14+00:00\">July 7, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"24adb1e6-72cb-4443-8b19-1f32869e160f\" data-name=\"007 First Light\" data-follow-text=\"Follow 007 First Light\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following 007 First Light\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow 007 First Light\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following 007 First Light\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow 007 First Light\" title=\"Follow 007 First Light\"><br \/>\n  Follow 007 First Light<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>It&#8217;s one of those weeks. After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/007-first-light-io-interactive-hitman-layoffs-project-fantasy\">Xbox pulling out of a publishing and funding deal<\/a> for Project Fantasy &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/io-interactive-project-fantasy-rpg\">IO Interactive&#8217;s next game<\/a> &#8211; the developer has regained full control of the IP and funding. That, however, means it&#8217;s readjusting its business to accommodate the ambitious RPG as well as future projects.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IOInteractive\/status\/2074475151471571062?s=20\">the company&#8217;s official X account<\/a> shared on 7th July. &#8220;We will continue to develop and fund it independently amongst our other projects.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>007 First Light &#8211; Official Launch Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=au2-tWLVd18\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To find &#8220;a new balance for the long-term future of the studio&#8221;, it&#8217;s been announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/io-interactive\">IO Interactive<\/a> will focus on the success of &#8220;internal core titles&#8221; instead of external projects and &#8220;mobile game derivatives&#8221;. While the studio&#8217;s (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/007-first-light-sales-estimate\">hugely successful<\/a>) latest game, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/007-first-light-review\">007: First Light<\/a>, isn&#8217;t explicitly mentioned, this message casts a shadow of doubt over a potential follow-up and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/james-bond-007-first-light-ioi-amazon\">partnerships with Amazon MGM Studios<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>With Xbox funding vanishing and a renewed focus on internal IPs, IO Interactive is announcing it&#8217;s &#8220;making changes&#8221;, closing its Istanbul studio, and &#8220;starting a process to part ways with colleagues who have been a meaningful part of what makes IOI what it is&#8221;. The number of workers affected by these cuts hasn&#8217;t been revealed at the time of writing, though the studio already shared similar words regarding staff cuts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/iointeractive_dear-gaming-community-for-a-good-while-activity-7477771296718807041-lfCb\">last week<\/a>, when it was revealed the RPG&#8217;s partnership was coming to an end.<\/p>\n<p>A return to &#8220;core titles&#8221; heavily suggests Agent 47&#8217;s next game might be coming sooner rather than later. Last year, IO Interactive&#8217;s head Hakan Abrak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/of-course-there-will-be-more-hitman-after-007-first-light-io-interactive-assures\">confirmed more Hitman was planned<\/a>, but whatever the next project assassin-centric project is might become a bigger priority under these new circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>As for Project Fantasy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/hitman-developer-confirms-development-of-bold-new-online-fantasy-rpg\">it&#8217;s been described<\/a> as &#8220;a world and game built from the core to entertain players and expand for many years to come&#8221;, though we don&#8217;t know for sure whether it&#8217;s a huge MMORPG or something else.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>It&#8217;s one of those weeks. After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/007-first-light-io-interactive-hitman-layoffs-project-fantasy\">Xbox pulling out of a publishing and funding deal<\/a> for Project Fantasy &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/io-interactive-project-fantasy-rpg\">IO Interactive&#8217;s next game<\/a> &#8211; the developer has regained full control of the IP and funding. That, however, means it&#8217;s readjusting its business to accommodate the ambitious RPG as well as future projects.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IOInteractive\/status\/2074475151471571062?s=20\">the company&#8217;s official X account<\/a> shared on 7th July. &#8220;We will continue to develop and fund it independently amongst our other projects.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>007 First Light &#8211; Official Launch Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=au2-tWLVd18\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To find &#8220;a new balance for the long-term future of the studio&#8221;, it&#8217;s been announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/io-interactive\">IO Interactive<\/a> will focus on the success of &#8220;internal core titles&#8221; instead of external projects and &#8220;mobile game derivatives&#8221;. While the studio&#8217;s (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/007-first-light-sales-estimate\">hugely successful<\/a>) latest game, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/007-first-light-review\">007: First Light<\/a>, isn&#8217;t explicitly mentioned, this message casts a shadow of doubt over a potential follow-up and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/james-bond-007-first-light-ioi-amazon\">partnerships with Amazon MGM Studios<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>With Xbox funding vanishing and a renewed focus on internal IPs, IO Interactive is announcing it&#8217;s &#8220;making changes&#8221;, closing its Istanbul studio, and &#8220;starting a process to part ways with colleagues who have been a meaningful part of what makes IOI what it is&#8221;. The number of workers affected by these cuts hasn&#8217;t been revealed at the time of writing, though the studio already shared similar words regarding staff cuts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/iointeractive_dear-gaming-community-for-a-good-while-activity-7477771296718807041-lfCb\">last week<\/a>, when it was revealed the RPG&#8217;s partnership was coming to an end.<\/p>\n<p>A return to &#8220;core titles&#8221; heavily suggests Agent 47&#8217;s next game might be coming sooner rather than later. Last year, IO Interactive&#8217;s head Hakan Abrak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/of-course-there-will-be-more-hitman-after-007-first-light-io-interactive-assures\">confirmed more Hitman was planned<\/a>, but whatever the next project assassin-centric project is might become a bigger priority under these new circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>As for Project Fantasy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/hitman-developer-confirms-development-of-bold-new-online-fantasy-rpg\">it&#8217;s been described<\/a> as &#8220;a world and game built from the core to entertain players and expand for many years to come&#8221;, though we don&#8217;t know for sure whether it&#8217;s a huge MMORPG or something else.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News IO Interactive regains full ownership of Project Fantasy following end of Xbox deal, shuts down Istanbul studio and lays off developers &#8220;to find a new balance&#8221; Good job no one did his bidding. Image credit: IO Interactive News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on July 7, 2026 Follow 007 First Light It&#8217;s one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2031282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2031282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2031282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2031282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2031282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}