South of Midnight BUST May FINALLY Be The End of Sweet Baby Inc...

South of Midnight Flops Harder Than Expected – Compulsion Games' Embarrassment on Full Display

Ok - so full disclosure right out of the gate here - When South of Midnight was first revealed, I had some pretty low expectations. Not because I was hoping to see the game fail (at least... initially), but because it had all the warning signs of another overhyped, under-delivering title. As time went on and I learned more about it, to me, it was crystal clear that it was just simply another game being propped up by corporate diversity checklists instead of any actual compelling gameplay.

Now that the game's officially launched and is out of early access, the numbers speak for themselves—and YIKES. They’re WAY worse than most folks ever thought possible...

Let’s start with the most glaring metric: concurrent Steam players.

On launch day, I would’ve considered a paltry 2,500–3,000 players an outright embarrassment. But South of Midnight couldn’t even clear that low bar. It didn’t even approach it. As of this writing, the game is sitting at just under 1,000 concurrent players on Steam (but to be fair... slowly rising). While it may crack 1k concurrent, that’s still beyond pathetic for a first-party Xbox title.

Sure, some defenders will say “But it’s on Game Pass!” That’s not the slam dunk rebuttal they think it is. This metric is easily disprovable by a simple question. Ask yourself—is South of Midnight the kind of game that would make you rush out and subscribe to Game Pass? If the answer's no, then Microsoft isn’t gaining any new revenue from it. Considering this is now a Microsoft-owned studio (Compulsion Games), that means this flop is ironically burning a hole ...in their own wallet.

Sweet Baby Inc's Fingerprints Are All Over It

It doesn’t help that Sweet Baby Inc is credited on this game, because gamers are already pushing back hard.

Their reputation continues to nosedive as more and more people connect the dots between underwhelming, identity-driven narratives and SBI's direct involvement. A now-viral video by @HubBandar on X flat-out said it:

“#SouthofMidnight's writer. No wonder the characters and story are trash.”

One of the most notable figures connected to this game’s promotion is Compulsion Game's own community manager Pikachulita, a person I’ve covered in depth in the past.

For those unfamiliar, Pikachulita has a long history of racially charged and extremely divisive commentary, and on top of that - her involvement with South of Midnight is just more proof of the ideological rot at the core of the project.

Compulsion Games' Insecurity on Full Display

Let’s not ignore the corporate unprofessional behavior from Compulsion Games themselves.

Not only has Compulsion Games blocked me on X, but they even untagged themselves from a post I made discussing how I had requested a review code to cover South of Midnight for my YouTube channel and audience. Compulsion Games declined. I’d like to imagine that when they saw that Smash JT email header come through on their end, they all had a good laugh at the office—probably patting themselves on the back...

That’s not just cowardly—it’s downright embarrassing. If they were so proud of their work, why hide from criticism of actual gamers out there?

To make matters worse, there’s already a full playthrough of the game available on YouTube, and it clocks in at around 7.5 hours long.

That’s no full-length game—And while yeah... it's longer than a glorified tech demo - It's not by much. Then when you look at the Steam reviews, the response from actual players has been anything but positive.

Take this review from Steam user Xani, which perfectly encapsulates the sentiment many are feeling:

“Looks kinda cool. No DEI-rot in the game so far. The main problem is the gameplay, it’s so boring. And I honestly tried to like South of Midnight as much as I can. But after 1.5 hours I asked myself ‘Do I want to continue?’ And the answer is no”

When your audience is walking away within the first hour and a half, you’ve failed at the most basic level.

Compulsion's Last Days Ahead?

I hope they really savor those moments, because judging by this paltry launch? They won’t have many more left. If Microsoft is even paying attention—and they absolutely should be—this kind of performance is not sustainable. Heads will roll. If not the entire studio itself... And right now, everyone at Compulsion Games looks like they’re just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It's gotta make you wonder - what's next for them all?

While we have no official numbers on how much Microsoft and Compulsion Games spent putting together this so-called "AA" game, it's safe to bet it was far more than they will ever make back in sales. This game isn’t just a monumental flop. It’s a wake-up call. Gamers are tired of being sold short. South of Midnight will go down as yet another example of what happens when ideology stifles innovation... and gamers... are tired of it all.

~Smash