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"

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IO Interactive, the studio behind Hitman, is now fully in charge of their ambitious RPG, Project Fantasy, after their partnership with Xbox ended. While regaining independence is big, it's a bittersweet move as they're also restructuring, including shutting down their Istanbul studio and letting go of developers to adapt to this new direction. It's a stark reminder of the business challenges even successful studios face in bringing new games to life.