Double Fine reveals its first post-Xbox game as Tim Schafer declares no one will shut the studio down but him
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
Double Fine has unveiled Thank You Bus Driver, its first game since regaining independence from Xbox Game Studios in July, alongside bullish comments from founder Tim Schafer that no one but himself will ever shut the studio down. The quirky transport-sim, in which players ferry passengers while enforcing onboard rules, is the debut title under the studio's new Double Fine Action Labs label, aimed at smaller, quickly produced games in the mould of indie hit Peak. It marks a clear break from the kind of releases Xbox previously oversaw and signals the offbeat, low-budget direction the studio intends to pursue with its newfound freedom.
The announcement capped a busy week for the San Francisco studio: its Kickstarter for the documentary and game jam Amnesia Fortnight 2026: Indie Reboot has already exceeded its funding goal, with backers now voting on pitches, one of which will become a full release. Keeper was also shadow-dropped on PS5 during a State of Play, becoming Double Fine's first post-Xbox launch, while staff showcased Thank You Bus Driver at PAX West. In a Bloomberg interview, Schafer insisted he alone controls the studio's fate, quipping that Xbox's CEO "isn't going to shoot my dog. I'm going to shoot it. But I'm not going to shoot it because it's going to do great." Thank You Bus Driver has no release date yet and is currently confirmed only for Windows PC.
- Double Fine reveals Thank You Bus Driver, its first post-Xbox game
- New Action Labs label targets small, quick indie-style releases
- Schafer vows only he could ever close down Double Fine
New here? Start with this
Double Fine is a well-known San Francisco video game studio, founded by Tim Schafer, best known for quirky, story-driven titles like Psychonauts and Brütal Legend. It had been owned by Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios division since 2019, which meant its games were made under Xbox's oversight and often released with backing for larger, more polished projects. In July, Double Fine regained its independence from Xbox, freeing it to set its own creative and financial direction.
Since then, the studio has been showing what independence looks like in practice: a new in-house label called Double Fine Action Labs, aimed at making smaller, cheaper, faster games rather than big-budget releases, and a Kickstarter-funded documentary and game jam called Amnesia Fortnight, a long-running Double Fine tradition where staff pitch and prototype new game ideas. Tim Schafer, as founder, remains the studio's public face and decision-maker, and his comments about the studio's future reflect his role in steering it now that Xbox is no longer involved.
This matters because it offers an early sense of how a well-known studio behaves once released from a major publisher's structure, at a time when layoffs and closures have been common across the games industry. The changes being reported, new game announcements, funding campaigns and public statements about the studio's independence, are being watched as indicators of whether Double Fine can sustain itself on its own terms.
Full account
Double Fine has announced its first new game since regaining its independence from Xbox Game Studios in July, a comic transport simulator called Thank You Bus Driver. The title will be the debut release under Double Fine Action Labs, a label the studio set up in August to publish smaller, quickly made games in the mould of recent breakout indie hits, and it is currently planned for Windows PC with no release date yet confirmed.
In Thank You Bus Driver, players drive a bus around picking up and dropping off passengers against the clock, but must also police an ever-growing list of onboard rules, slapping any rider who breaks them, whether that means dozing off, clipping their toenails or simply smelling bad. Success in enforcing the rules earns extra time to reach the next stop, while new prohibitions can be introduced at random, and the need to glance in the rear-view mirror to catch offenders creates a constant risk of ploughing into oncoming traffic. Additional touches, including collectible dashboard trinkets and different town settings, round out what both accounts describe as a deliberately silly, small-scale project.
The announcement coincided with a wider flurry of activity at the San Francisco studio. Its Kickstarter for Amnesia Fortnight 2026: Indie Reboot, a documentary and game-jam campaign, has already passed its funding target, with backers now voting on which pitches will be developed, one of which will go on to become a fully released game. Double Fine staff were also showing off Thank You Bus Driver and selling merchandise at PAX West, while a PlayStation 5 port of Keeper was quietly released during a recent State of Play, marking the studio's first release since leaving the Xbox fold.
Speaking to Bloomberg about the split from Microsoft, founder Tim Schafer struck a defiant tone about the studio's future, insisting that only he could ever decide to close Double Fine down. He put it bluntly: 'No one puts Double Fine out of business except for me. Asha's not going to shoot my dog. I'm going to shoot it. But I'm not going to shoot it because it's going to do great. A lot of people want to walk the dog,' a reference to Xbox chief Asha Sharma. Schafer framed this newly independent chapter, and games like Thank You Bus Driver and Keeper, as proof that the studio intends to keep making idiosyncratic titles on its own terms.
Where outlets differ
One account frames Schafer's Bloomberg comment as part of a broader triumphant narrative around Double Fine's busy week (Kickstarter success, PAX West presence, the Keeper PS5 port), while the other centres almost entirely on describing Thank You Bus Driver's gameplay mechanics in detail and mentions the Bloomberg interview only briefly at the end.
The second account adds colour not in the first, such as the Amnesia Fortnight Kickstarter's joke $100 million Brutal Legend 2 stretch goal, and specific in-game rules like no sleeping or toenail clipping.
The first account provides more context on the Double Fine Action Labs label's purpose and inspiration from games like Peak, and notes the game is Windows PC only, details the second account omits.
The first account frames Schafer's quote as arising from discussing the studio's future generally, while the second specifies it came after Schafer realised there was a real possibility Xbox could have shut the studio down.
More coverage