It's only been a few months since developer Double Fine's split from Microsoft, but the team behind Psychonauts 2, Kiln, and Keeper is looking ahead. With another successful Kickstarter campaign under its belt, the newly independent studio's second (or should that be third?) life as an indie is off to an optimistic start. With the current Kickstarter focusing on the developer's latest Amenesia Fortnight — a developer-run game jam where new micro games are produced — it's allowing the developers to build up some much-needed runway as they plan for their next major project.
At PAX West 2026, we spoke with Double Fine studio head and president, Tim Schafer, about the developer's current path forward. Along with talking about his return to independence following the biggest restructure in Xbox history, Schafer reflected on Double Fine's years under Microsoft's banner, and explained how Game Pass can still potentially work as a subscription service. He also reaffirmed his commitment to making Brutal Legend 2 (provided someone can front the money for it).
IGN: It's been seven years since the Microsoft acquisition, and the game industry has gone through so much change. What's it been like to return to being an independent developer?
Tim Schafer: It's been exhilarating. Like, it's scary because we've got to make our own way in the world, but we did that for 19 years before Microsoft, so we have a lot of great ideas and a lot of experience pitching them. A lot of people know it's a tough time out there. A lot of people, and now especially a lot of the older developers, are gone. A lot of the old avenues we used for funding are gone, but there are a lot of new ones. So we're just putting ourselves out there, meeting a lot of new people, and talking about who wants to make games with us.
IGN: I think what's been great to see with Double Fine is that it has a core audience of players that are invested in seeing the studio thrive. I remember the original Kickstarter campaign for Broken Age was a big breakthrough for Double Fine.
Schafer: Yeah, I mean that sort of thing was quite like a big financial impact, but it was also an awakening of just how tight we are with the community, like how dependent we are on them, and how much they're willing to participate. You know what I mean? Because they participate financially, but also creatively. Like, they really want to make art as well. I feel like that's something special about our fans, and it's because our number one thing is creativity. So I think it breeds a fan who also likes creativity, and I think it, hopefully, helps our games inspire not just players, but people to like learning to draw or program, or, you know, people who want to know how to make a game.
IGN: Now that you are an independent developer again, and with all this attention on you, do you feel there's a certain responsibility placed on you all to make it as an indie studio?
Schafer: I don't see it as a responsibility. I mean, I don't expect anybody to look at us and know what to do, because our situation always feels really unique to Double Fine and me. Like we're an indie game studio, but we have a lot of employees, and we have healthcare, and we have a lot of stuff like that. There's not a lot of companies our size anymore, like AA-size studios, kind of. So, I wouldn't say do everything that we do. I hope no one's following our example because I don't know if it works for anyone but us.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/i-really-want-game-pass-to-work-after-navigating-the-xbox-reset-double-fine-boss-tim-schafer-is-indie-once-again
