IO Interactive to Shut Down Istanbul Studio Following Termination of Xbox RPG Partnership
The video game developer and publisher IO Interactive (IOI) has finalized plans to close its satellite studio in Istanbul. The structural decision follows the conclusion of an external financial and publishing partnership with Xbox, which pulled its funding for an in-development online fantasy role-playing game codenamed Project Fantasy. While the independent Danish developer has regained full ownership of the project and its underlying intellectual property, the loss of external financial backing forced corporate leadership to rebalance operations.
The Istanbul branch, established in 2023 within the Sarıyer district, was originally designed to establish a core footprint for AAA gaming development within Turkey. The regional team had contributed to major ongoing IO Interactive productions, including upcoming Hitman content and 007 First Light. IO Interactive confirmed it remains fully committed to bringing Project Fantasy to market independently, but stated that the studio closure and subsequent employee redundancies were necessary measures to protect the publisher's long-term corporate independence.
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