Compulsion Games rebuilds retention on trust over reassurance after Xbox split
Summary
Michael Elliott Chan, head of people and operations at Compulsion Games, manages retention in a labour market that has swung back toward employers with fewer roles available.
Staff are building nest eggs and emergency funds, so verbal reassurance from leadership no longer carries default credibility.
Emma Smith, 15 years in HR at Creative Assembly before founding Hestia Talent Partners, argues trust-rebuilding is a job shared by every studio leader alongside HR.
"When people start to trust what they are hearing and experiencing again, motivation has something much more solid to build on"
01
Employees hedge against instability after the Xbox separation
Compulsion Games, the We Happy Few developer, restructured when it separated from Xbox.
Chan reports the labour market has shifted back toward employers, with fewer roles available.
Employees are building nest eggs and strengthening emergency funds against a possible downturn.
More staff raise proactive personal financial planning in one-to-one conversations.
02
Smith puts trust before motivation and spreads it across leadership
Smith makes rebuilding trust a responsibility of leaders across the studio, with HR supporting.
Telling staff "everything is fine" fails on people who survived repeated layoff rounds.
Trust comes from honesty, consistency, and being upfront when circumstances change.
03
Chan runs one-to-one communication instead of company-wide announcements
Chan runs an open-door policy and proactively checks in with quieter team members.
Loss of motivation often shows first as people going quiet.
Compulsion favours one-to-one conversations over broad announcements after difficult news.
"Communicating intentions regularly is important because it helps people focus on what they can control: doing great work and supporting each other"
04
Flatter studios force a broader definition of career development
Smith counts deepening skills, adjacent experience, cross-team work, mentoring, and new ownership as valid development.
Cost-cutting has flattened structures and cut traditional promotion slots.
Leaders should not dress up alternatives as promotions when none exist.
What this means
For Publishers & Developers: Replace blanket reassurance with one-to-one honesty; layoff-scarred staff discount broadcast messaging.
For Service Vendors: Retention consultancies can sell trust-rebuilding frameworks to studios flattened by post-restructuring cuts.
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