South of Midnight Director Says He Wouldn't Have Funded His Own Xbox Game

David Sears, the director of South of Midnight, said in a video interview that if he had been running Xbox, he would not have greenlit the game he made. Grateful for the chance to build it, Sears said he always expected Microsoft to eventually "turn off the tap" on the project, and he describes the broader funding strategy behind it as unsustainable in hindsight.

"There's always a night when Rome burns," Sears told host Ben Hanson, "and I didn't know exactly when it would be, but I was always worried about it."

A portfolio built on borrowed time

Sears recalled that during South of Midnight's development, Xbox leadership told studios like Compulsion Games that the goal was to assemble a portfolio of non-mainstream titles and diversify the platform's library. He did not name Game Pass as a motivating factor. The timing, though, lines up with Xbox's push to stock its subscription service with a wide range of games.

His view of that strategy was not especially optimistic. "They were funding a lot of games," Sears said. "They were also funding a lot of studios that I was like 'Well. Okay. Great, I guess you have infinite money, you do you. I want less. I don't want to feel the weight of the obligation of a giant budget, or an army of six hundred to be responsible for. I want to make something that isn't going to bankrupt Microsoft or the games division.'"

Asked about the idea of cutting off South of Midnight himself, he said: "It just seems like in hindsight at least, it was unsustainable, so of course, it was going to have a shocking outcome."

Compulsion goes independent

Sears left Compulsion in 2025, so he was no longer at the studio when Microsoft began divesting from it earlier this year. He still praised the company for letting Compulsion go independent instead of closing it. In his experience, he said, the current Microsoft is "more humane" than it has been in the past.

"It's remarkable and commendable, and the fact they didn't do what their predecessors might have done," Sears said of Compulsion's former parent.

An awarded game, an unlucky timing

The outcome sits awkwardly beside the game's reception. South of Midnight picked up a Game Award for Games for Impact, a Change Award, a D.I.C.E. Award, a BAFTA, and a 2025 Peabody Award. Asha Sharma, then the incoming Xbox CEO, bragged about on social media about the Peabody before announcing a "reset" initiative at Xbox that ultimately cut Compulsion loose.

Sears' comments are a rare, candid look from inside a studio that was part of the diversification effort. His claim is that the approach had no long-term view, and that the people making the games could see it. His own preference was a smaller project with a smaller team, something that would not carry the weight of a giant budget or hundreds of staff.

Compulsion now continues as an independent studio, while Xbox's wider portfolio is still being reshaped under its new leadership.