IO Interactive has officially confirmed that it will continue developing the RPG Project Fantasy after the termination of its financial partnership with Microsoft. Moreover, the company has fully regained the rights to the project and intends to self-finance its further creation.
Last week, amidst widespread layoffs at Microsoft affecting thousands of employees, IO Interactive announced the cessation of its collaboration with an external investor for Project Fantasy. It was later revealed that this partner was Microsoft.
Now, the developers have issued an official statement, confirming that the project's fate remains entirely under their control.
Following the conclusion of our external financial partnership for Project Fantasy, IO Interactive has re-acquired full ownership of the project and intellectual property. We will continue to self-develop and self-fund the game alongside our other projects.
Along with this, IO Interactive spoke about internal changes that have occurred within the company. Specifically, the studio is closing its Istanbul division and beginning the process of reducing some staff.
According to the developers, such measures are necessary to ensure the long-term stability of the company and to concentrate resources on key internal projects instead of third-party initiatives and potential mobile games.
Despite the difficult decisions, IO Interactive emphasized that Project Fantasy remains one of the studio's main development directions.
Project Fantasy is a game, a world, and a new intellectual property that we are fully committed to. We can't wait to share this project with players.