Psychonauts 2

87 / 100PlatformAdventureAugust 24, 2021

Psychonauts 2 is a platform-adventure game developed by Double Fine Productions and released in 2021. It continues the story of Razputin “Raz” Aquato, a young psychic who joins the international psychic espionage agency known as the Psychonauts. Gameplay combines platforming, exploration, and combat with psychic abilities such as telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and mental connection. Players journey through imaginative levels set inside characters’ minds, each reflecting their personalities and struggles.

Xbox Series X|SPlayStation 4LinuxPC (Microsoft Windows)PlayStation 5MacXbox One

Double FineXboxTim Schafer

Double Fine's Creative Awakening After Xbox Exit, Tim Schafer Speaks Out

Tim Schafer, founder and CEO of Psychonauts developer Double Fine, is speaking candidly about life after Microsoft divested the studio as part of Xbox's mass restructuring. Far from treating the separation as a defeat, Schafer has called it a "creative awakening," saying the newfound independence has reinvigorated the studio in ways it hadn't experienced during its years under the Xbox umbrella. He noted that his unease began once longtime Xbox head Phil Spencer retired, signaling to him that the landscape was shifting in ways that wouldn't favor Double Fine's style of creative, auteur-driven game development.

Sep 5, 2026

Double FineXboxKickstarter

Double Fine Regains Full IP Rights and Returns to Kickstarter After Xbox Split

Double Fine Productions has confirmed that it has regained the IP and publishing rights for every game it released during its time under Xbox, marking a clean break from Microsoft following the studio's independence. In a statement that will resonate with longtime fans, the studio noted that "buying any of our games helps support the studio," meaning all revenue from sales of titles like Psychonauts 2 now flows directly back to the developer rather than to a publisher. The full IP transfer covers the entire catalog produced under the Xbox umbrella, with Double Fine confirming: "Everything, we got back, the transfer of the IP came back to us."

Aug 22, 2026

layoffsDouble FineXbox

Double Fine Lays Off 23 Staff Just Weeks After Split From Xbox

Double Fine Productions, the studio behind Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2, has announced layoffs affecting 23 employees, roughly 25.6 percent of its total staff. The cuts come just three weeks after the studio was spun off from Xbox as part of Microsoft's ongoing restructuring efforts, which saw Double Fine among five studios divested from Xbox Game Studios. Founder Tim Schafer confirmed the news, saying, "Only the survival of our studio would ever make us consider such a painful action," and acknowledging that "the people we are losing were all important."

Jul 29, 2026

XboxStudio ClosuresIndustry News

Xbox Spins Off Major Studios: Double Fine, Arkane, Undead Labs & More Go Independent

In a seismic shake-up of the gaming industry, Microsoft has announced it is parting ways with several of its most storied Xbox Game Studios developers — including Double Fine Productions, Arkane Studios, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory — as part of a sweeping business "reset" that has resulted in thousands of layoffs across the gaming division. Xbox Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed the restructuring, which marks one of the most dramatic consolidations in Microsoft's gaming history and sends beloved studios out on their own.

Jul 7, 2026

XboxLayoffsStudio Closures

Xbox Layoffs Loom: Undead Labs at Risk as Devs Demand Worker Protections

Microsoft's Xbox gaming division is bracing for what could be a wave of massive layoffs this summer, with multiple first-party studios reportedly in the crosshairs. According to reports, Undead Labs — the Seattle-based developer behind the State of Decay franchise — is at risk of closure, joining a growing list of studios said to be facing the axe that includes Double Fine, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory. The timing is particularly striking for Undead Labs, as the news comes just weeks after State of Decay 3 was revealed for PlayStation 5, raising serious questions about the future of the project should the studio be shuttered or sold.

Jun 30, 2026