Ron Gilbert talks the untraditional way he got Thimbleweed Park 2 funded, and his frustrations with modern publishing deals
I think it would be a tad fair if you heard that Thimbleweed Park 2 is in the works and thought, "who funded that?" Not because it doesn't deserve funding, but because adventure games aren't exactly in vogue (even though it's not as dead a genre as many think), and also there's that whole video game industry crumbling around us day by day thing. When it was announced last month, creator Ron…
Thimbleweed Park 2 is in development, with creator Ron Gilbert securing funding from a private investor. According to Gilbert, he did not want to work with a conventional publisher due to unfavorable terms, including publishers wanting the majority of the profits even after recouping their investment. He also ruled out doing another Kickstarter.
Gilbert's experience with publishers had not been great, with terms that he felt were unfair. He wanted a more equitable arrangement, but publishers were not willing to meet his requirements. It was then that a friend introduced him to a wealthy outsider who was a fan of adventure games and Thimbleweed Park.
The private investor provided the necessary funding for Thimbleweed Park 2, allowing Gilbert to move forward with the project. PC Gamer reports that Gilbert was initially dubious about the investor, but eventually made contact and secured the funding.
Brief written by urgent.news from Rock Paper Shotgun, PC Gamer — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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