IO Interactive Fully Regains Project Fantasy Control, Shuts Down Istanbul Studio
IO Interactive has pulled a rare piece of good news out of a rough stretch for the industry: it has regained full control of Project Fantasy, allowing the Danish studio to keep developing and funding the game on its own. The turnaround comes with a major downside, though, as the company says its Istanbul studio is being shut down and affected staff will need support finding new roles.
Independence restored for Project Fantasy
The company shared the update through posts on LinkedIn and other social channels. In its message, IO Interactive says that the end of an outside funding arrangement for Project Fantasy is what enabled the change in control.
IO Interactive’s statement can be paraphrased as: after finishing its external finance partnership for Project Fantasy, the studio has reclaimed full ownership of the project as well as its intellectual property. The company also says it plans to keep pushing the game forward while funding it independently alongside its existing slate of work.
For players following the fantasy project, the key takeaway is that IO Interactive intends to continue self-publishing and self-financing Project Fantasy rather than relying on the earlier partner structure.
Studio plans, Hitman momentum, and where the cuts land
The post also frames the studio’s ability to cover its other development commitments. IO Interactive says it is still actively working on Hitman, with future plans that include 007 work following the franchise’s recent success.
Still, the news is not all positive for the workforce. Since Project Fantasy was largely handled out of IO Interactive’s Istanbul location, the studio says personnel there are being impacted. The message adds that the company is working on helping the team transition into new employment opportunities.
- Project Fantasy was largely operated from IO’s Istanbul studio.
- Staff are affected by the change, and IO says it is trying to help transition impacted workers into other roles.
- Multiple employees indicated over the previous week that they were out of work, supporting claims that the Istanbul site was closing or being heavily downsized.
- The most recent update confirms the Istanbul studio will be shuttered.
What changed behind the scenes
While IO Interactive is now in charge of Project Fantasy again, the company’s situation appears tied to funding dynamics. The project had been strongly linked to Xbox investments, and the suggestion is that the shift in how selective Xbox has become may have triggered the funding pressure that contributed to the Istanbul studio’s collapse.
In other words: Xbox still invests in games, but its backing has become more cautious over time, and that withdrawal appears to have caused a gap—one that ultimately influenced the external finance arrangement ending and the resulting operational upheaval.
Development status and possible knock-on effects
Even after the closure, IO Interactive is positioning itself as a fully independent AAA developer and publisher, aiming to keep its other productions moving without disruption. Project Fantasy, first announced in 2023, is described as continuing development in the background.
There’s also an important context point about how far along the studio is likely to be: reports have suggested it took seven years to bring 007 from early concept to release. If that development pace is any guide, Project Fantasy may already be relatively deep into production—meaning IO may need to rebalance resources, roadmaps, and production priorities to finish strong.
Whether those adjustments will translate into changes to internal release timing, game features, or overall scope remains unclear for now.
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