It’s been a little over a year since Double Fine announced their crowd-funding campaign for Psychonauts 2. As you may recall from its conception, Double Fine planned to put up the bulk of the game’s budget along with a then unknown external partner. It appears Double Fine has found that partner and it’s sure to secure the game’s payday.
Announced via press release, Payday 2 publisher Starbreeze has officially signed a publishing agreement with Double Fine Productions for Psychonauts 2. Starbreeze will invest $8 million USD to help bring the game to PC and consoles through digital distribution.
While some may wonder what the attachment of a big publisher means for the game and its Fig investors, according to a recent post on the campaign site, there’s nothing to worry about, reading, “you may recall some rather attractively made brain shaped charts showing how we were putting together the funding for Psychonauts 2. There would be a portion from our generous backers and Fig investors, a portion from Double Fine, and a portion from an undisclosed publishing partner. The only change is that the text that said ‘publishing partner’ can say ‘Starbreeze,’ now you know where the rest of the money is coming from!”
In addition to the publisher update, Double Fine released an update video showcasing some early development of Psychonauts 2 in a map called The Quarry. While it is worth mentioning that much of what is shown may not make it into the final game, it will reflect the finished product in some way.
Double Fine President and CEO Tim Schafer is excited about the partnership saying, “Starbreeze is the perfect partner for Double Fine and our backers on Psychonauts 2. Their expertise in not just developing and publishing games, but supporting them after launch will be a great benefit for players of the game.”
Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson-Klint echoed this sentiment, saying, “Many of us gamers who’ve grown up during 70’s and 80’s have at some point come across the great games from Double Fine and Tim Schafer. Games like Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Brütal Legend are all in the list of personal all time favorites for many of us.”
Andersson-Klint went on to say, “We’re very proud to be able to add this prominent collaboration to our Publishing business. Starbreeze is looking forward to support Double Fine in bringing the new and exciting game Psychonauts 2 to young and old gamers world wide.”
While no release date for Psychonauts 2 has been announced, the game is still set for 2018.
