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Notch Officially Backs Away From Psychonauts 2

report

by Kyle Hilliard on February 05, 2013 at 10:21 AM

11,476 Views

It was always a bit of an unlikely dream, but now Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson has officially stepped away from financing Psychonauts 2.

The news comes from VentureBeat who confirmed with Double Fine's and Psychonauts' creator Tim Schafer that Persson wouldn't be funding the game. Scahfer said, “I think I gave Markus a heart attack when I told him how much Psychonauts 2 would cost.” Persson also shared some more information speaking on Reddit:

“I somewhat naively thought ‘a couple of million’ was two million. I had no doubt in my mind that a Psychonauts 2 would earn that money back easily. Turns out they wanted 18 million dollars, haha. I don’t have the time at the moment to even try to get educated enough to make an 18 million dollar deal. Perhaps in some distant future when I’m no longer trying to make games, I could get into angel investing. I’ve made one private investment into a game so far, at $100K, and it’s frankly a lot more work than I thought.”

Double Fine has stated that it is currently focused on finishing the Kickstarter supported Double Fine Adventure, but it has plans to seek multiple investors to make Psychonauts 2 a reality in the future. Schafer abandoned the idea of Psychonauts 2 after the first didn't sell very well, but it seems as though he has a renewed fervor for the project.

Email the author Kyle Hilliard, or follow on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, Tim Schafer, Double Fine, psychonauts, Adventure, report, notch, mojang, markus persson, Psychonauts 2

Comments

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by Gavin Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:24 AM

All these new Double Fine games are great and all but I agree that they need to focus on finishing the Kickstarter/Double Fine Adventure first. I put alot of money in that and it seems like it's being pushed aside. In the update videos they said they may need additional funding to complete it. I'm not so sure it was a good idea to invest in it now.
by A Person Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:31 AM

God damn, HOW IS THIS GAME NOT FUNDED YET!!?!??!?!? Literally everyone who has heard of it, which is a lot, want to buy it. It's not like they won't be able to break even, the developer will definitely make a profit AND THEN SOME if everyone who says they would buy a sequel actually does that.
by TheodoricFriede Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:32 AM

Sad, but expected... Why is it that the most creative in this industry are always the least funded?
by Andrew Marcos Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:33 AM

Sad, but 18 million is quite a pretty penny, even for newly rich Notch. Hopefully it gets the sequel it deserves.
by Robertman2 Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:35 AM

Notch! I am 100% percent sure you could at least partiality fund it!
by Aaron Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:37 AM

You're bringing me down Kyle... http://1-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/sp/image/1349/04/1349046031224.jpg
by Aaron Quixote Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:40 AM

That's fairly naive on Notch's part. I would think the process he went through getting Minecraft up and running and the time since would have given him enough insight into how development works and how a title such as Psychonauts could come to life, and the costs inherent to such a project. Oh well, chalk it up to a lesson learned. I hope he knows not to bite off more than he can chew now, and not to raise the hopes of millions of gamers only to pull the rug out from under their feet.
by new traditionalist Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:44 AM

crap. that would have been awesome, but a man can dream... a man can dream. www.youtube.com/watch
by maeso22 Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 10:52 AM

Psychonauts kickstarter. I guarantee it would get the money needed or I'll eat my shoe.

Edit: Regardless of the naysayers, I still believe that a ip as loved as Psychonauts, and a developer as loved as Double Fine, could reach the seemingly impossible mark of $18 million. If not, however, perhaps set the goal amount lower and use it to get the ball rolling on Psychonauts 2, maybe use the money to get a demo up and going to show publishers. Anything to get Psychonauts 2 made.
by The Doctor Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:01 AM

Yes, Notch. Games take lots of money to make. =P

But, seriously. He thought that they were going to make a full length console title for $2 million? That's like DLG money, not full length AAA title money. I'm mean, $2 mil is less than the budget for Double Fine Adventure, and that's just a downloadable, 2D, point and click adventure game. Hell, the first Psychonauts had a budget of $13 million. Two million never would have been enough to make Psychonauts 2. Not in the wildest of dreams. For a man who has been so successful in the gaming industry, Notch sure doesn't seem to understand how it works.
by Necromonk Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:04 AM

I bought the first 2 times to help them sell more. I could even get it as DLC whenever I get a 360...
by Boyzby Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:08 AM

It didn't sell well but it's really loved. I imagine a sequel would be like releasing an HD collection in that it will give people a chance to play something that they might have always heard of but never got for some reason.
by Zero Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:16 AM

18 million...

I need Psychonauts 2 so bad though.
by new traditionalist Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:24 AM

come GI community. we can all scrap together 18 million for this game.
by dodgyboyy Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:24 AM

nice, he's a humble dude, takes responsibility for a mistake and owns up, rather than bumbling through it and probably losing all that money
by Delicieuxz Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:32 AM

Notch made $100 million just last year alone.... wouldn't want his last-year profits to sink to a measly $80 million, now would we? He even said he doesn't spend any of it. So... rich people, go figure.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2013/02/04/minecraft-creator-markus-notch-persson-made-100-million-last-year-is-a-little-confused-how/

Why does he think he needs to spend time educating himself on how to invest $100 million? No one is asking or wanting him to direct or give input to the project.
by nickpeck35 Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:38 AM

Hell I'd toss in a few for that game as I LOVED the first one.
by Steven E. Holland Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 11:39 AM

Aww, lol well I still can't wait for Psyconauts 2 tho.
by ShadowKnight508 Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Oh well. Hopefully Schafer can find other investors to make Psychonauts 2 a reality in time for the arrival of the PS4/Xbox 720 (or whatever Microsoft will name it)
by Warbuff Tuesday, February 05, 2013 at 12:01 PM

He's smart to back away from this one. No way in heck would that investment pay back.