Compulsion Games, developers of We Happy Few appear to be in the “playable alpha build” stage of their next project according to the current narrative director at Compulsion Games, Lisa Hunter’s LinkedIn page. The current update to Hunter’s LinkedIn page notes that in her position as Narrative Director at Compulsion Games she “took the project from pre-production to a playable alpha build.” The full description reads as follows:
Oversee narrative design and scriptwriting for a new IP. Collaborate with other departments to ensure gameplay and narrative are aligned. Took the project from pre-production to a playable alpha build.
Lisa Hunter – Narrative Director at Compulsion Games
This latest update may well be in relation to Compulsion Games’ unannounced Midnight project which was first revealed by industry insider Jez Corden on Windows Central back on November 11th, 2021. According to Corden, the game is supposedly set to be a third-person action title “set in a dark and fantastical world.” He continues by noting that the project is described as a “coming of age” title that takes inspiration from America’s Deep South. The game is reportedly a single-player-only experience and will focus on a “southern gothic” world with beasts, magic, and a “strong” story. Included in Corden’s articles are a number of concept art pieces depicting the main character as well as other pieces from the upcoming project. It’s not yet confirmed yet if the updated “alpha build” of the project Lisa Hunter is working on is related to Midnight but there hasn’t been any other news relating to upcoming Compulsion Games projects so take that how you will. The shift from first-person to third-person in this upcoming title is sure to be interesting and will allow Compulsion Games to add even more diverse content to their catalog.
Compulsion Games was originally founded in 2009 and has since joined Microsoft’s long list of Xbox’s first-party studios as of 2018. The company describes itself as being “devoted to building experiences that feel handcrafted” and is passionate about “world-building and rich storylines.” The company’s previous release, We Happy Few, was met with a lukewarm reception as it struggled to gather an audience at launch and suffered from a number of bugs. The game itself was recently removed from Xbox Game Pass which confused fans as the title came from a first-party studio. However, it was due to We Happy Few having been published by Gearbox Software before Xbox’s acquisition of the developer.
