Double Fine has been hard at work at their next title: Psychonauts 2. However, to the dismay of its fans, the developer announced that they need more time on the game. Although the newest Psychonauts title was promised to release in late 2018, it is now looking like the game will not release until 2019 at the very earliest.
The project lead, Zak McClendon, broke the news to fans in a developer update video along with Double Fine’s founder, Tim Schafer. The two explained that after building and exploring the first playable build of Psychonauts 2, they just needed more time. After many promises that the game is great, McClendon shared that more time is definitely needed to perfect the size and scope of this new world.
McClendon said, “We do know about how long it’s going to take but we don’t want to say anything until we have a firm date for people. We want to give it time to make it something that we love and that the fans love and continues the legacy of Psychonauts 1 in a real meaningful and special way.” So for now, at least, no new release window has been announced. The video then goes on to highlight new characters and backer rewards from their Fig campaign. There is even a small glimpse of the playable build.
Psychonauts 2 was announced back in December of 2015 at the Game Awards. Through the support of 24,109 backers, Double Fine raised over $3.8 million — about $500,000 more than their goal. Starbreeze Studios, developer and publisher of Payday 2 and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, invested $8 million in Psychonauts 2 and plans to publish the game. At the Game Awards, Jack Black announced that he will also be involved with the project, but didn’t elaborate much further than that.
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