Double Fine Productions, Inc. is an American video game company located in San Francisco, California. It works directly with Xbox Game Studios. The company was started in July 2000 by Tim Schafer after he left LucasArts. Its first two games, Psychonauts and Brütal Legend, received good reviews from critics but did not meet the expectations of publishers. The company's future became more secure when Schafer used several game ideas created during a two-week event called "Amnesia Fortnight" to develop smaller games. These games were licensed by publishers and sold well. Schafer has continued to hold these Amnesia Fortnights, allowing fans to vote on which ideas should be developed.

Double Fine also helped increase interest in crowdfunding for video games. It raised over US$3 million from fans online to create Broken Age, which was one of the largest Kickstarter projects at the time. It also raised more than US$3 million for Psychonauts 2. The company has supported other independent game developers by publishing their games. It has also acquired the rights to update and improve earlier LucasArts adventure games, including Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, and Full Throttle. In June 2019, Microsoft bought Double Fine after previously taking over the publishing of Psychonauts 2.

History

Double Fine was started in July 2000 by Tim Schafer, a former game developer from LucasArts, along with some of his former colleagues. Before this, LucasArts had been moving away from making adventure games and focusing more on action-based games, which was a common trend in the gaming industry. Schafer had just finished creating Grim Fandango, an adventure game that received good reviews but did not sell well. At the same time, many of his coworkers were leaving LucasArts, and Schafer was unsure about his future there. His colleagues suggested they start their own game studio. Schafer left LucasArts in January 2000 and co-founded Double Fine later that year.

Schafer started Double Fine with two programmers, David Dixon and Jonathan Menzies, in a building in San Francisco that used to be a clog shop. After working for several months on a demo for a game that would later become Psychonauts, more members from the Grim Fandango team and new employees joined the company to begin full production.

In 2011, Double Fine introduced a program called Amnesia Fortnights to find new game ideas. This led the company to split into smaller teams of about 15 people each. Each team can create a small game independently, but for larger projects like Psychonauts 2, two or more teams temporarily combine their efforts. Once a project is finished, the teams can separate again.

Double Fine is still based in San Francisco. The name "Double Fine" comes from a sign on the Golden Gate Bridge that once read "double fine zone," warning drivers that fines on that road were twice as high as normal. The company’s logo and mascot is called the Two-Headed Baby, often shortened to 2HB. This abbreviation is also used for Moai, a tool used in game development. The Double Fine website features seven webcomics created by the company’s artists, known as the Double Fine Comics.

On June 9, 2019, during Microsoft’s press event at E3 2019, it was announced that Double Fine had been bought by Microsoft and would join Xbox Game Studios. Schafer said the acquisition would allow Double Fine to stay independent but avoid the challenge of finding publishers for its games in the future. He mentioned that Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service for gamers, could help more people try Double Fine’s games, such as Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2, which have a unique look that might not attract buyers who pay full price. Schafer believed the deal would let the studio continue making creative and experimental games while reaching more players. In July 2021, a month before the release of Psychonauts 2, Schafer said he was satisfied with how Microsoft handled the acquisition. He described it as "limited integration," meaning Double Fine kept control over creative decisions while Microsoft managed financial matters. This allowed the team to focus on completing Psychonauts 2 without worrying about budget limits. In February 2023, Double Fine and 2 Player Productions released PsychOdyssey, a 22-hour documentary about the making of Psychonauts 2.

In August 2025, Schafer said the studio is currently working on new original games, such as Keeper, developed by Lee Petty. He also mentioned there were no plans to release sequels like Psychonauts 3 or Brutal Legend 2, even though some players had asked for them.

Projects

Double Fine's first completed project was Psychonauts, a multi-platform platform game that follows Raz, a boy with psychic abilities. Raz breaks into a summer camp for psychic children to join a group of elite psychic heroes called Psychonauts. The game received high praise from critics and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. However, it did not sell well at first.

Double Fine's second project was Brütal Legend, a game that mixes real-time strategy and action-adventure elements. The story follows Eddie Riggs, a heavy metal roadie. Eddie's name comes from Eddie the Head, the Iron Maiden mascot, and Derek Riggs, the artist who created the mascot. In the game, Eddie is transported to a fantasy world where demons have enslaved humanity. Tim Schafer, the game's creator, said the idea was inspired by the themes, stories, and artwork found in heavy metal music, including Norse mythology. Brütal Legend was published by Electronic Arts and released in North America on October 13, 2009, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and later for Microsoft Windows.

During the development of Brütal Legend, a publishing issue occurred. Activision, which had acquired the game's rights through a merger with Vivendi Games, decided to cancel the project. This forced Schafer to find a new publisher. Around 2007, Schafer tried to improve team morale by starting an event called "Amnesia Fortnight." For two weeks, employees were split into four groups and asked to forget their current work on Brütal Legend. Instead, they created game prototypes for review. Four prototypes were made: Custodians Of The Clock, Happy Song, Love Puzzle, and Tiny Personal Ninja.

The process was repeated later during Brütal Legend’s development, producing two more prototypes: Costume Quest and Stacking. Schafer said the idea for Amnesia Fortnight came from film director Wong Kar-Wai. During the long production of Ashes of Time, Wong had his actors and crew create fun footage, which later became the films Chungking Express and Fallen Angels. These films were among Wong’s most famous works. Eventually, Schafer signed a publishing deal with Electronic Arts for Brütal Legend.

The Amnesia Fortnight events helped keep Double Fine viable. After Brütal Legend was completed, Double Fine began work on a sequel but was told to stop by Electronic Arts. With no other publishing deals, Schafer used the eight game ideas from Amnesia Fortnight to create short, complete games. He noticed the success of smaller games like Geometry Wars on digital platforms and decided to develop similar titles. Schafer and his team chose the best four ideas and worked with publishers. Two games, Costume Quest and Stacking, were picked up by THQ and released on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Both were successful, and THQ showed interest in helping Double Fine make more games.

Iron Brigade, originally called Custodians Of The Clock, was developed as an Xbox Live Arcade game by Microsoft Game Studios. It received positive reviews. A fourth game, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, was based on the Happy Song prototype. It was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment with the Sesame Workshop for Xbox 360 using the Kinect controller. Though not originally a licensed game, Schafer said it was a good fit for Double Fine’s first licensed title. Schafer mentioned some of the unused ideas might be used in the future, but others might not be sellable to publishers.

The teams for these games were led by former leaders from Brütal Legend: Tasha Harris for Costume Quest, Lee Petty for Stacking, Brad Muir for Iron Brigade, and Nathan Martz for Once Upon a Monster. This helped promote these team leaders and ensured each team had the right resources. No staff were laid off, and Double Fine hired Ron Gilbert, Schafer’s former collaborator at LucasArts, to work on new projects. Schafer said the company might make larger games like Psychonauts or Brütal Legend in the future but would likely focus on smaller titles due to the experience gained.

In 2011, Double Fine held another Amnesia Fortnight, producing three prototypes: Middle Manager Of Justice, a superhero simulation game; Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, a camp-building game inspired by Psychonauts; and Brazen, a Monster Hunter-style co-op game.

In November 2012, Double Fine and Humble Bundle launched Amnesia Fortnight 2012, a charity event. People who donated at least $1 could vote on 23 game ideas. The top five ideas were turned into prototypes, which were included in a Humble Bundle purchase. The prototypes were: Hack 'n' Slash, a Zelda-inspired action-adventure game; Spacebase DF-9, a space simulation game; The White Birch, an ambient platformer; Autonomous, a retro-futuristic robot game; and Black Lake, a fairytale exploration game. Additional prototypes from earlier events, including Costume Quest, Happy Song (later Once Upon a Monster), and Brazen, were also included. The development process was recorded by 2 Player Productions.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013, the Indie Fund announced it would fund two Double Fine games. The first was Spacebase DF-9, a commercial version of a 2012 Amnesia Fortnight prototype. It was released as an alpha version on Steam Early Access, with user feedback shaping its development. The project was canceled at "Alpha 6e," and the final version was released with source code shared with the community. However, due to backlash over the project’s sudden end, Spacebase DF-9 received more negative reviews than positive ones on Steam.

Events

Double Fine and iam8bit organize an annual free festival called Day of the Devs in San Francisco every year. The event, which started in 2012, offers food, drinks, and the chance to try playing games that are not yet available for sale.

Double Fine Comics

Double Fine Comics is a group of webcomics supported by Double Fine Productions. Each comic has a different style and tone, but they all show the same kind of humor found in the Double Fine game Psychonauts. These webcomics were published on the company website in Adobe Flash format under the heading "Comics."

Scott Campbell, also known as Scott C., created a comic called Double Fine Action Comics. The comic follows the adventures of Two-Headed Baby (the Double Fine logo), a strongman, and a knight. Other characters, like two astronauts named Captain and Thompson, were added later. Some characters, such as a mummy, a frogman, and a naked ogre, appeared briefly during quests or adventures. At the top of most strips, there is a small drawing that is usually unrelated to the story. These drawings sometimes have titles, like "Mysterious Happiness!" The comic reached its 400th issue in December 2006. In August 2011, Scott suggested the comic might end, as Two-Headed Baby and the knight and strongman accepted their fate. The comic was brought back in May 2012 but went on pause again later that year.

In 2008, the first 300 comics were put into a trade paperback called Double Fine Action Comics by Scott C (Volume 1). This book includes a foreword by Tim Schafer. In 2013, the next 200 comics were compiled into another trade paperback, Double Fine Action Comics by Scott C (Volume 2). This book has a foreword by Erik Wolpaw.

Razmig Mavlian, also known as Raz, creates two comics. The first, Epic Saga, is made like an adventure game similar to King's Quest or The Secret of Monkey Island. The last two comics were countdown screens, like those in arcade games, which suggest the comic is paused or stopped. Mavlian's other comic, Happy Funnies, has no dialogue and shows smiling characters in strange situations. This comic also appears to be paused.

Epic Saga was the first comic turned into a free Flash video game by Klint Honeychurch. The game, Epic Saga: Extreme Fighter, is a simple, low-resolution fighting game available on Double Fine's website.

Nathan Stapley draws a comic that mixes stories about his hair or clothing with adventure tales featuring characters like Indiana Jones, Chewbacca from Star Wars, or O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill. This comic is currently paused.

My Comic About Me was the second comic made into a free Flash video game by Klint Honeychurch. The game, My Game About Me: Olympic Challenge, is a mock sports game that includes events like eating and sleeping, along with traditional sports like surfing.

Snapshots (formerly called Polaroids) is a comic by Mark Hamer. He paints realistic pictures that look like Polaroid photographs. Each picture has a joke written at the bottom. In 2013, the comics were put into a book titled Snapshots. The book includes a foreword by Tim Schafer and an introduction by Scott Campbell.

Tasha Harris created a fifth comic, added in January 2008. It is a semi-autobiographical story about her life, her boyfriend, and her two cats. The comic was moved to her personal blog, "Tasha's Quest Log," in September 2011, when she left Double Fine. It was updated regularly until 2013, but its current status is unknown.

Tasha's Comic was the third comic made into a free Flash video game by Klint Honeychurch. The game, Tasha's Game, is a puzzle-platform game where Tasha must rescue her family and co-workers from a mysterious entity. Her cat, Snoopy, helps by acting as a cursor to place platforms.