Psychonauts 2 dev Double Fine wants its next game to be "new and original and surprising"

Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine says its next game will be something "new and original and surprising."

In an interview with GamesIndustry on the eve of Psychonauts 2's launch, Double Fine founder Tim Schafer explains how Xbox Game Pass affords the studio the freedom to branch away from established IPs and into uncharted territory. Because subscribers can download and try out new games without any additional financial investment, Schafer hopes they won't be as hesitant to try something different.

"I think the value proposition now is what we can contribute to the Game Pass subscription service," Schafer says. "I think everything is moving in some form or another to subscriptions. That's just a relationship with players which I think is really great for Double Fine, where we want to do something new and original and surprising, which means there might be a higher barrier of entry for players who don't know what this is."

And by lowering that barrier financially where it's not a matter of buying one $70 game over another and it's more about the time it takes to download them because they're all up there on Game Pass, I think that's a huge way for Double Fine games to find their audiences faster."

With Psychonauts 2 already proving a big hit with critics ahead of its launch on Wednesday, Double Fine has taken another significant step in solidifying itself as a studio whose name alone is enough to sell games, no matter how unfamiliar. In case you weren't sold already, GamesRadar's Psychonauts 2 review called it "wildly imaginative," "an audiovisual feast for the senses," and "a generous and expansive adventure full of heart and humor."

For everything else on the way to Microsoft's new box, here's our guide to upcoming Xbox Series X games.