Double Fine regains Psychonauts 2 rights, goes fully independent after Xbox split

Double Fine, the studio behind Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, has completed its transition to an independent developer after leaving Xbox earlier this year. CEO Tim Schafer confirmed on the Kinda Funny podcast that the studio has regained full ownership of its intellectual property and publishing rights to all games it created under Microsoft.

"Everything we got back, the transfer of the IP came back to us, and we got the publishing rights back for all our games," Schafer said. He noted that on Steam, titles like Psychonauts 2 and Keeper still list Xbox Game Studios as the publisher, but that is due to a processing delay. "When people buy our games it helps support the studio," he added.

The studio now earns all revenue from direct sales of its back catalog, which includes critically acclaimed titles such as Psychonauts 2, Brutal Legend, and Costume Quest. Schafer emphasized that this revenue stream is crucial for the studio's financial stability as it works on pitching new projects to publishers.

Later this month, Double Fine will launch a Kickstarter campaign centered around its annual Amnesia Fortnight game jam. This event previously gave birth to games like Costume Quest and Stacking. The entire process will be filmed and turned into a documentary, and backers will help choose which concept gets developed into a small game.

Schafer said the Kickstarter campaign and game sales revenue will help the studio "have as much runway as possible" while negotiating with publishers. The news comes less than a month after Double Fine laid off 23 employees to become "a size that we can sustain," according to Schafer's earlier statement. The studio's independence marks a significant shift from its previous structure under Xbox, giving it full creative and financial control over its future projects.