Starbreeze Publishing (Dead by Daylight) announced today that they’ll be publishing Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2, following an $8 million investment. In its Fig campaign last year, Psychonauts 2 raised more than $3.8 million.
With the investment, Starbreeze will bring Psychonauts 2 to “PC and other console platforms through digital distribution” in 2018. Provided the Fig details are still accurate, you can expect a Q3 2018 launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
As part of the deal, Starbreeze becomes the major investor in Psychonauts 2, and “will be able to recoup 100% of its full investment including marketing costs with an initial revenue share of 85% after distribution and platform fees and Fig crowdfunding revenue share.” Once Starbreeze makes back the initial investment, their share of revenues will go down to 60%. Double Fine still retains 100% of the IP.
Double Fine CEO Tim Schafer said:
Starbreeze is the perfect partner for Double Fine and our backers on Psychonauts 2. Their expertise in not just developing and publishing games, but supporting them after launch will be a great benefit for players of the game.
To coincide with today’s announcement, Double Fine released three new videos, and they all include a look at some Psychonauts 2 gameplay. If you’re only interested in the gameplay, skip to 0:22 of the first video, 1:45 of the second video, and 1:45 of the third video:
And here’s the description for Psychonauts 2:
Psychonauts 2 is a third-person action/adventure platformer where players control Razputin Aquato – a newly graduated Psychonaut with powerful psychic abilities – as he delves into the minds of others. The player will use Raz’s PSI powers, such as telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and levitation, in combination with Raz’s acrobatic platforming skills, to explore the mental worlds of the game’s eccentric characters.
The story of Psychonauts 2 picks up directly after the events of the first game, and the VR adventure Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, but players will not need to have played those games to follow the events of Psychonauts 2. In this new story, Raz arrives at Psychonaut headquarters, excited to finally become an official Psychonaut, but soon finds himself torn between the laws of the Psychonauts, his loyalty to his friends, and a secret mission that could undo everything for which he has fought so hard.
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a PlayStation VR exclusive and releases on February 21.
[Source: Starbreeze, Fig]
