Double Fine Productions regains ownership of IP and publishing rights following independence from Xbox

Double Fine Productions has reclaimed ownership of its intellectual property and publishing rights following its departure from Xbox. CEO Tim Schafer explained on the Kinda Funny Games podcast that certain of the company's games still bear the Microsoft label, but the transition is a gradual process. Purchases of their games continue to support the studio.

Double Fine, alongside Compulsion Games, spun out of Xbox Game Studios amid a workforce reduction that impacted more than 3,200 employees. Compulsion Games officially parted ways with Xbox last week. Guillaume Provost, Compulsion Games' CEO, expressed that his team preferred to "eat rocks and drink gasoline" than be separated from the company.

To celebrate its newfound independence, Double Fine announced its fifth Amnesia Fortnight event. Every year, employees collaborate in small teams to conceive and develop game prototypes over two weeks. Some of these prototypes evolve into complete projects, such as the recently released Kiln. This year's event, titled "Amnesia Fortnight 2026 – Indie Reboot: A Double Fine Productions Game Jam Documentary and Kickstarter Campaign," will commence on August 31.

The studio will host a live Game Jam, offering backers the chance to select which idea will be turned into four new prototypes, with the goal of identifying which will become a real (small) game.

Throughout the process, 2 Player Productions will document the festivities to create one of their renowned documentary series. Schafer stated that the objective is to secure one Kickstarter-supported project to bolster the studio's financial stability post-separation, providing time and consistency as they work on other initiatives.

Last month, Double Fine downsized by eliminating 23 positions after its complete separation from Xbox. Schafer emphasized that these decisions are not made frivolously, as only the survival of their studio would warrant such a painful action.