Updated
Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 22
Double Fine Reclaims Rights to 7 Years of Xbox-Era Games After Microsoft Split
Updated
Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 22

Double Fine Reclaims Rights to 7 Years of Xbox-Era Games After Microsoft Split

3 articles · Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 22

Summary

  • Tim Schafer said Double Fine now owns—or soon will own—the IP and publishing rights to nearly every game it made during seven years under Xbox, including Psychonauts 2, with some transfers still processing.
  • Buying those games now directly supports the studio, Schafer said, framing the regained rights as a revenue lifeline after Double Fine cut roughly a quarter of its 90-person staff during the transition.
  • 31 August marks the return of Amnesia Fortnight as a Kickstarter-backed game jam, with backers voting on which prototype becomes Double Fine’s next full project.
  • The move clarifies the fallout from Xbox’s July reorganization, which affected about 3,200 roles and spun out studios including Double Fine and Compulsion Games while letting them retain their back catalogues.

Insights

With Double Fine and Compulsion Games leaving Xbox, is Microsoft quietly abandoning its mid-tier studio strategy to cut costs?
Double Fine celebrates its independence, but do immediate layoffs and a Kickstarter campaign signal a desperate fight for survival?