Double Fine owns all its game IPs and publishing rights after Xbox split
Double Fine Productions is back in the driver's seat for its entire catalog. CEO Tim Schafer confirmed on the Kinda Funny Games Daily show that the studio has regained the intellectual property and publishing rights to all its games made while under Microsoft's Xbox banner, as reported by IGN and Kotaku.
Schafer directly addressed fan questions, stating, "Everything, we got back, the transfer of the IP came back to us, and we have the publishing rights back to our games." He noted that storefronts like Steam may still list Microsoft as the publisher, but that's a processing delay. "When people buy our games, it supports the studio," he emphasized.
To help fund its new independent future, Double Fine has launched a Kickstarter for its Amnesia Fortnight 2026 game jam. Per PC Gamer, backers will vote on which game ideas get prototyped, with one becoming a small, finished game. The entire creative process will be filmed for a documentary. The jam is scheduled to begin on August 31.
The studio also teased a major update for its recent pottery brawler, Kiln, coming next week with new maps, modes, and a price drop. This news follows last month's layoffs at Double Fine, which affected roughly a quarter of its staff after Microsoft spun it off as part of a larger Xbox restructuring.
Kotaku notes that another studio, Compulsion Games, found itself in a similar position and has also confirmed it retains full rights to its game, South of Midnight.
