Double Fine cut 23 jobs to exit Xbox; Schafer learned of shutdown risk from rumors
Summary
Tim Schafer says Double Fine learned Microsoft was weighing a shutdown through online rumors, with no direct Xbox notice.
The negotiated return to independence cost 23 jobs in the same transition.
Schafer discloses no revenue model, funding source, or runway for the studio after Xbox.
"We have heard the rumors, then the rumors were true, and then we decided we wanted to go it alone"
01
Xbox shutdown risk reached Double Fine as rumor before any formal notice
Double Fine leadership got no direct communication from Xbox about a possible shutdown.
The threat surfaced first as online rumors, later confirmed true.
Confirmation of those rumors pushed the studio into the negotiations that produced full independence.
02
Independence cost 23 jobs and left the funding model undisclosed
Double Fine laid off 23 staff in the same move that returned it to independence.
Schafer describes negotiation and survival, leaving the new financial structure and backers undisclosed.
No revenue model, funding source, or runway figure accompanies the split.
03
Schafer cannot explain a four-year downturn his own evidence contradicts
The usual layoff-then-rehire cycle has not repeated in four years, Schafer says.
He notes players and revenue persist, which should have triggered rehiring.
His only explanation is that someone is being greedy, which he admits he cannot verify.
"I just assume someone is being greedy somewhere"
AAA layoffs hit at ship, while indie studios instead run out of money after launch.
What this means
For Investors & VC: Absence of any disclosed runway or backer is a diligence flag on this independent studio.
For Publishers & Developers: A negotiated buyout from a parent can still shed a third of headcount - model the cut in.
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