In a new interview with GameReactor, I/O Interactive Senior Technical Executive Producer Cris Vega and Core Engine Programmer Álvaro Fernández shared very few details about the status of Project Fantasy.
Word about Project Fantasy actually first came from I/O Interactive’s CEO himself, Hakan Abrak. In a financial meeting all the way back in 2021, he alluded to a ‘third universe’ that the company was making, that was “something our core people, our veteran staff, have been dreaming about for some time.”
And then we reported on the rumor that this game was a multiplayer fantasy RPG, being developed alongside Xbox Game Studios. Note that at this time, the rumor speculated, but did not actually claim, that the game would be an Xbox exclusive.
In April 2023, I/O had new job openings looking strictly for developers with experience in multiplayer games, adding to evidence that it could be a multiplayer title. Finally, most recently, I/O listed new job openings, naming the game’s seeming inspiration, a gamebook series called Fighting Fantasy.
But then, I/O got the rug pulled from under them, when unredacted documents shared in Microsoft – Activision regulation unwittingly confirmed that Microsoft did have a project with the studio, under their codename Project Dragon.
Assuming Project Dragon and Project Fantasy are one and the same game, we know from the document that this game is actually an RPG shooter, planned for Xbox Series X|S, and confirmed as Xbox exclusive.
Here’s what Álvaro Fernández had to say about Project Fantasy:
“Not much, actually, because this is not our domain. This is also [something where] there’s nothing clear for us, so I don’t think any word came out about any specifics about this, so we cannot comment on it”.
Cris Vega then followed up:
“Yeah, [it’s an] online multiplayer RPG, and likely will be like any other IOI game, probably will be on console and PC, but nothing is confirmed, it’s still some years until it will release, so yeah”.
We also know from November of last year that IOI went looking for a monetization designer. For what it’s worth, that job listing did not have a game title attached to it. It could be for Project Fantasy, but it could also be just as likely for Project 007, or a different unannounced I/O Interactive title.
The big Xbox exclusivity question, of course, looms over this still unfinished project, thanks to what we now know about games like Starfield. Microsoft has outlined they have a specific criteria for what games becomes exclusive or not, but many other gamers are nervous that Microsoft will just make all their favorite games Xbox exclusive.
We don’t even know yet if this is a game that we want to see become multiplatform, but given I/O Interactive’s caliber, Project Fantasy could be a system seller. For now, Microsoft and I/O are keeping their cards close to the chest.
