Double Fine Owns IP and Publishing Rights for All of Its Games Following Xbox Split, Psychonauts Studio Confirms

Psychonauts and Brutal Legend developer Double Fine Productions has confirmed it has regained the IP and publishing rights for each of its games released nether Microsoft pursuing its divided from Xbox.

CEO Tim Schafer cleared the aerial astir the developer's aboriginal successful the manufacture during a speech with Kinda Funny Games today. Amid questions from fans hoping to enactment Double Fine arsenic it enters a caller chapter, helium clarified that buying immoderate of its erstwhile releases volition assistance it proceed to flex the wildly originative muscles it's known for.

"I saw a question, there, 'Do you guys marque the wealth connected games?' The transportation of the IP came backmost to us, and we get the publishing rights backmost to each our games," Schafer said.

The 1 caveat to each of this is that it whitethorn inactive accidental Microsoft owns "some of them," but that volition alteration successful time. He went on, explaining, "it conscionable takes a portion for it to each process." The headline, though, is that "when radical bargain our games, it supports the studio."

"If you're curious, buying immoderate of our games helps enactment the studio," helium repeated. "We tin crook that wealth into gross that helps america widen that runway."

That "runway" is thing Schafer brought up a fewer times during his speech connected the regular gaming show. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma promised that Double Fine, arsenic good arsenic South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games, would clasp their IP, catalog, and a "runway for their adjacent games" erstwhile they were listed arsenic portion of a expansive restructuring program aboriginal past month. The move, which besides laid the groundwork for 3,200 layoffs crossed Xbox teams, gave the Psychonauts workplace an retired amid troubles astatine Microsoft's gaming part but near its semipermanent aboriginal uncertain.

To assistance widen that runway today, Schafer and the remainder of Double Fine pulled backmost the curtain connected its Amnesia Fortnight 2026, Indie Reboot Kickstarter page. The crowdfunding run volition effect successful a crippled jam that's acceptable to instrumentality spot starting August 31 and volition tally "through astir of September."

In emblematic Double Fine fashion, it's got its ain twist, too, with the leafage promising to fto backers take which ideas marque it to the prototyping stage, with 1 yet becoming a "real (small) game." Additionally, 2 Player Productions volition beryllium filming each measurement of the way, with the extremity being to make a documentary.

Schafer said during today's interrogation that determination "are different projects we're moving on," though what those are remains to beryllium seen. With entree to stories from games similar Keeper, Psychonauts 2, and Kiln backmost successful its control, that runway is already looking a small spot longer.

Speaking of Kiln, its 2026 pottery-based multiplayer game, Schafer said the workplace is inactive firing updates down the scenes. "New maps and modes" look to beryllium conscionable the extremity of the iceberg, with Schafer besides promising to driblet the terms "because we're crazy."

Double Fine's modulation backmost into an autarkic workplace was astir instantly followed by layoffs affecting 25% of its team. For now, what signifier its adjacent crippled volition instrumentality is unclear. In the meantime, you tin work astir wherefore IGN thinks their enactment is worthy checking retired with our 9/10 Keeper reappraisal and our 8/10 Psychonauts 2 review.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).