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 founded in July 2000 by Tim Schafer after he left LucasArts. Its first two games, Psychonauts and Brütal Legend, received praise from critics but did not meet the expectations of publishers. The company’s future improved when Schafer used ideas from in-house prototypes created during a two-week event called "Amnesia Fortnight" to develop smaller games. These games were licensed through publishers and achieved commercial success. Schafer has continued to use Amnesia Fortnight events, allowing fans to vote on which ideas to develop. Double Fine also helped increase interest in crowdfunding for video games. It raised more than $3 million through Kickstarter for the development of Broken Age, which was one of the largest projects funded by Kickstarter at the time, and over $3 million for Psychonauts 2.

The company has continued to support its role as an independent developer and has used its influence to help smaller independent developers. It has also acquired the rights to remaster earlier LucasArts adventure games, including Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, and Full Throttle. In June 2019, Microsoft purchased the studio, following its earlier acquisition of the publishing rights for Psychonauts 2.

History

In July 2000, Tim Schafer, a former developer at LucasArts, founded Double Fine with some of his former colleagues from LucasArts. Before this, LucasArts had been moving away from adventure games to more action-based games, following trends in the gaming industry. Schafer had just completed the adventure game Grim Fandango, which received praise from critics but was not successful commercially. As others left LucasArts, Schafer felt uncertain about his future there. His colleagues suggested they start their own studio to create their own games. Schafer left LucasArts in January 2000 and co-founded Double Fine later that year.

Schafer started Double Fine with programmers David Dixon and Jonathan Menzies in a building in San Francisco that was once a clog shop. After working on a demo for what would become Psychonauts, members of the Grim Fandango development team and new employees were gradually added to begin production.

In 2011, the company introduced Amnesia Fortnights, an event to discover new game ideas. This led to the company being divided into teams of about 15 people each. Each team can independently develop small games, but for larger projects like Psychonauts 2, two or more teams temporarily join forces. Teams can separate again once a project is completed.

Double Fine remains 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 double the usual amount. The company’s logo and mascot is called the Two-Headed Baby, often abbreviated as 2HB. This abbreviation is also used for Moai, a development tool. The Double Fine website features seven webcomics created by the company’s art team, collectively known as Double Fine Comics.

On June 9, 2019, during Microsoft’s E3 2019 press conference, it was announced that Double Fine had been acquired by Microsoft and would join Xbox Game Studios. Schafer stated that the acquisition would allow Double Fine to keep its independent nature while avoiding the challenge of finding publishers for its games. He noted that Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service for games, could help more people try Double Fine’s games, including Psychonauts and its sequel. Schafer also said the acquisition would let the studio continue creating experimental games and increase their visibility. In July 2021, a month before Psychonauts 2’s release, Schafer expressed satisfaction with Microsoft’s handling of the acquisition, stating that Double Fine retained full creative control while Microsoft managed financial matters. Double Fine and 2 Player Productions released PsychOdyssey, a 22-hour documentary about the making of Psychonauts 2, in February 2023.

In August 2025, Schafer said the studio is currently working on new original intellectual properties, such as Keeper, developed by Lee Petty. He mentioned there were no plans to release sequels like Psychonauts 3 or Brutal Legend 2, despite fan requests.

Projects

Double Fine's first completed project was Psychonauts, a multi-platform platform game following Raz, a psychically gifted boy who breaks into a summer camp for psychic children to try to join an elite group of 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 hybrid real-time strategy and action-adventure game following 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. The story follows Eddie as he is transported to a fantasy world where demons have enslaved humanity. Tim Schafer said the game's inspiration came from the lore, fantasy themes, and Norse mythology found in heavy metal music's lyrics and album art. 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 Brütal Legend’s development, a publishing issue occurred. Activision, which had acquired the rights through a merger with Vivendi Games, decided to cancel the project, forcing Schafer to find a new publisher. In about 2007, Schafer tried to improve team morale by organizing an "Amnesia Fortnight." For two weeks, employees were split into four groups, asked to forget their work on Brütal Legend, and tasked with creating game prototypes for review. Four prototypes were made: Custodians Of The Clock, Happy Song, Love Puzzle, and Tiny Personal Ninja.

The process was repeated near the end of Brütal Legend, producing two more prototypes: Costume Quest and Stacking. Schafer said the idea for the Amnesia Fortnights came from film director Wong Kar-Wai. During the long filming of Ashes of Time, Wong took some actors and crew to Hong Kong for fun, leading to the films Chungking Express and Fallen Angels. Schafer later signed a publishing deal with Electronic Arts for Brütal Legend.

These Amnesia Fortnight periods helped keep the company stable. After Brütal Legend was completed, Double Fine began work on a sequel but stopped when Electronic Arts refused to publish it. With no other deals, Schafer used the eight game ideas from the Amnesia Fortnights, believing they could become short, complete games. He noticed the success of smaller games like Geometry Wars on digital platforms and chose the best four ideas to develop. Costume Quest and Stacking were picked up by THQ and released digitally on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Both were successful, and THQ wanted to help Double Fine make more similar games.

Iron Brigade was first prototyped as Custodians Of The Clock and later released as Trenched due to trademark issues. It was developed as an Xbox Live Arcade game with Microsoft Game Studios and received positive reviews. Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, based on the Happy Song prototype, was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment with Sesame Workshop for Xbox 360 using the Kinect controller. Though not originally licensed, Schafer said it was a good fit for the company’s first licensed game. Schafer said some of the unused ideas might be used in the future, but others may not be marketable.

The teams for these games were led by former Brütal Legend leaders: 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 leaders and ensured teams had the right resources. Double Fine did not lay off any staff and hired Ron Gilbert, Schafer’s former collaborator at LucasArts, to work on new titles. Schafer said the company might focus on smaller games instead of large projects like Psychonauts or Brütal Legend due to the experience gained.

In 2011, Double Fine held another Amnesia Fortnight, producing prototypes for 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 where buyers could vote on 23 game ideas. The top five voted ideas became prototypes: Hack 'n' Slash (a Zelda-inspired action-adventure), 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). Buyers also received prototypes for Costume Quest, Happy Song (which became Once Upon a Monster), and Brazen. The prototypes were documented by 2 Player Productions.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013, the Indie Fund announced it would fund two Double Fine titles. The first was Spacebase DF-9, a commercial version of the Spacebase DF-9 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," with the final version released as a finished game. The source code was shared with the community. However, due to backlash over the sudden end, Spacebase DF-9 has more negative than positive reviews on Steam.

Events

Double Fine and iam8bit hold a free event every year called Day of the Devs in San Francisco. The event, which started in 2012, offers food, drinks, and the chance to try games that have not been released yet.

Double Fine Comics

Double Fine Comics is a group of webcomics created and supported by Double Fine Productions. Each comic has a different style and tone, but they all share the same kind of humor found in the Double Fine game Psychonauts. These webcomics were published on the company's 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, such as two astronauts named Captain and Thompson, were introduced as the comic progressed. Many characters, including a mummy, a frogman, and a naked ogre, have appeared briefly during quests or adventures. At the top of most comic strips is a small, usually unrelated drawing. 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 the character Two-Headed Baby became inactive and the knight and strongman accepted this change. The comic was revived in May 2012 but later went back on hiatus.

In 2008, the first 300 comics were collected into a trade paperback titled 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 called Double Fine Action Comics by Scott C. (Volume 2). This book includes a foreword by Erik Wolpaw.

Razmig Mavlian, also known as Raz, creates two comics. The first, Epic Saga, is styled 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 on hiatus or canceled. Mavlian’s other comic, Happy Funnies, is a dialogue-free strip featuring smiling characters in strange situations. This comic also appears to be on hiatus.

Epic Saga was the first comic adapted 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 personal stories about his hair or clothing with adventure tales involving characters like Indiana Jones, Chewbacca from Star Wars, or O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill. This comic appears to be on hiatus.

My Comic About Me was the second comic adapted 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, but with obstacles to avoid.

Snapshots (formerly called Polaroids) is a comic by Mark Hamer. He paints realistic pictures that look like Polaroid photographs. Each image includes a joke written at the bottom.

In 2013, the Snapshots comics were collected into a book with the same title. The book includes a foreword by Tim Schafer and an introduction by Scott Campbell.

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

Tasha's Comic was the third comic adapted 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 coworkers from a mysterious entity. Her cat, Snoopy, helps her by acting as a cursor to place platforms and reach distant areas.

Awards

• Received the Best New Studio award at the Game Developers Conference in 2006
• Received the Developer of the Year award from Official Xbox Magazine in 2011