Compulsion Games Inc. is a Canadian

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

and a studio of

Xbox Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...

based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Established in 2009 by ex-

Arkane Studios Arkane Studios SASU is a French video game developer based in Lyon. It was founded in 1999, and released its first game, ''Arx Fatalis'', in 2002. The studio has created the popular Dishonored (series), ''Dishonored'' series as well as developi ...

developer Guillaume Provost, the studio developed the 2013 puzzle-platform game '' Contrast'' and the 2018 survival horror game ''

We Happy Few ''We Happy Few'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Compulsion Games and published by Gearbox Publishing. In 2016, an early access version was released for Windows, with the full game seeing wide release for PlayStation 4, Windows, ...

''.

History

Compulsion Games was founded in

in 2009 by Guillaume Provost, who had previously worked for

. To raise funds for their first game, the team of Compulsion Games worked on external projects, including '' Darksiders'', ''Dungeon & Dragons: Daggerdale'', and ''Arthur Christmas: Elf Run''. In November 2013, Compulsion Games released the puzzle-platform game ''Contrast'' for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. By January 2014, the game had sold more than one million copies. The Xbox One version was eventually released in June 2014. In February 2015, the company announced ''We Happy Few'' as its next game. Debuting at PAX East 2015, it received unprecedented hype, which the studio struggled to control. Receiving comparisons to ''

BioShock ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 ...

'', the team decided to pivot from the survival mechanics they initially envisioned to a more narrative-based game. In June, Compulsion launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund development, which ultimately exceeded its goal. Microsoft then showcased the game at E3 2016. The game launched in Early Access on PC and Xbox in July 2016. By the summer of 2017, Compulsion had 40 people working on the game and a publishing deal with Gearbox Publishing. ''We Happy Few'' was given an April 2018 release date. However, by January 2018, it was delayed so Compulsion could rework the first few hours of the game. At E3 2018, Microsoft announced it had acquired Compulsion Games, which would become part of Microsoft Studios (now known as

). ''We Happy Few'' was finally released in August. Critics praised its aesthetic, art direction, and narrative, but were more mixed about the actual gameplay. In 2019, after finishing the DLC for ''We Happy Few'', Compulsion began work on its next game. By October 2021, the studio had further doubled its staff and was working on a narrative, third-person perspective game. It would avoid some missteps from ''We Happy Few'', such as using roguelike elements or an early access approach. '' South of Midnight'' was revealed at a June 2023 Xbox Showcase, a third-person action-adventure game set in a magical version of the American South. In January 2025, Microsoft revealed an April release date for

Xbox Series X and S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...

, PC, and Game Pass.

Games developed

References

External links

* {{Xbox Game Studios 2009 establishments in Quebec 2018 mergers and acquisitions Canadian companies established in 2009 Companies based in Montreal First-party video game developers Microsoft subsidiaries Video game companies established in 2009 Video game companies of Canada Video game development companies Xbox Game Studios