With Xbox’s massive restructuring underway, several studios have been at risk of closure. However, some have worked to instead forge deals with Xbox to return to operating as independent studios. Now, the ink on some of these deals is starting to dry, and we’re hearing from impacted studios at last. We recently learned that South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games has successfully gone indie. In addition, Psychonauts studio Double Fine has reclaimed its IP and will operate as an independent studio after breaking with Xbox Game Studios.
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On August 21st, Double Fine Productions confirmed it has regained publishing and IP rights for all of the games it released while under the Microsoft umbrella. Microsoft acquired the indie studio back in 2019, which means big games like Psychonauts 2, Keeper, and Kiln were published by Xbox Game Studios. Now, however, those publishing rights will return to Double Fine as they officially split from Xbox. And apparently, that will also make a few of Double Fine Productions’ recent games more affordable for fans.
Double Fine Productions Announces Permanent Price Drops for Kiln and Keeper Coming Soon
Double Fine first announced its intentions to return to its indie roots in a July social media post. The process of spinning back out from Xbox took some time, and things have been relatively quiet in the last month or so. However, CEO Tim Schafer finally gave a massive update on what’s next for the studio during an August 21st appearance on the Kinda Funny Games podcast. Most notably, Schafer confirmed that buying the studio’s games supports Double Fine directly, even if some are still temporarily partly owned by Microsoft. However, they also gave players a heads-up that they might want to wait before buying a few of the studio’s games.
In a recent social media post, Double Fine confirmed that two of its games are getting “permanent price changes” soon. Specifically, the changes will impact Kiln and Keeper, notably both projects that launched during Double Fine’s time with Xbox. In the replies to its Bluesky post, Double Fine confirmed that the price change is indeed a price decrease for the games. So, if you’ve been hoping to snag a copy of Kiln or Keeper, it’s about to be cheaper to do so. The exact price change hasn’t yet been confirmed, so it’s unclear just how much cheaper they will be.
Along with these permanent price decreases, Double Fine is also reviewing the international price model for all of its games on Steam. That means that prices for other Double Fine games will likely be adjusted in certain regions to better reflect consistent pricing across the board.
Double Fine Productions Launches Indie Reboot Kickstarter to Help Fund Its Next Game
As Double Fine Productions prepares to make games as an indie studio once more, funding is of course a top concern. Along with buying games produced by the studio, fans are able to support Double Fine through its upcoming Kickstarter campaign. The campaign is called Amnesia Fortnight 2026 – Indie Reboot, and will include a game jam. Fans will be able to watch Double Fine work on prototypes, then vote on which of them will eventually become an actual game. The campaign is set to launch on August 31st and will run through “most of September.”
Kickstarter Backers will get to vote on the winning game, but there will be other goodies on offer as backer rewards as well. The Game Jam will be filmed and turned into a documentary by 2 Player Productions. If you want to be a part of Double Fine Productions’ next chapter, you can follow the Kickstarter to get notified when it goes live. The full list of backer rewards and additional details should be available then, as well.
In short, if you want to support Double Fine as it goes indie (again), you have options. You can buy their existing library of games, which is about to get a bit more affordable. And starting August 31st, you can also support the Kickstarter campaign and have a say in the next (small) project from Double Fine.
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Courtesy of Scopely Explore
