'No-one puts Double Fine out of business except me', says Tim Schafer on taking Double Fine independent: 'Asha's not going to shoot my dog'

Double Fine has gone independent after Microsoft's new CEO Asha Sharma announced layoffs of 3,200 people earlier this year. The studio has had a troubled history since the success of Psychonauts 2, with neither 2025's Keeper nor 2026's Kiln performing well commercially. Tim Schafer, Double Fine's co-founder, attributes the studio's departure to Sharma's changing vision for Xbox, which he believes adversely affected their mission of putting great games on Game Pass.

Despite the studio's financial struggles, Schafer remains optimistic, stating that Double Fine won't be put out of business by anyone except him. He acknowledges that the games industry has many issues beyond his control, but he and his team will continue to navigate the challenges to keep the studio afloat and create engaging games for the market.