When Psychonauts 2 finally launches in August, it will have completed its protracted production cycle without crunch, according to Senior Producer Kevin Johnson. Originally announced in late 2015 alongside a crowdfunding campaign, the long-awaited Psychonauts sequel has endured more than its fare share of development hardships.
Given the various ups and downs, it seems Microsoft’s acquisition of developer Double Fine Productions played an instrumental part in the team’s ability to maintain its vision for the next chapter of Psychonauts. Studio CEO Tim Schafer admitted as much in a GamesIndustry.biz interview, telling the publication that previously excised content reentered the equation after Microsoft stepped in as publisher. Thus, certain boss fights and the like that Double Fine removed because of funding would actually get to see the light of day. Better still, these decisions and the processes that followed didn’t engender crunch practices, according to one Psychonauts 2 lead.
Over the weekend, Senior Producer Kevin Johnson shared a Twitter post wherein he said Psychonauts 2’s production featured no crunch. Johnson went on to add claim the project made do with the “schedule [Double Fine] set forth.” It’s worth noting that Johnson joined the team in 2017. As such, it remains unclear if he’s speaking exclusively about his experience since then or if such insight also takes the first couple of years of development into consideration. See the tweet from the Senior Producer in the following post:
As a former Telltale Games staffer, Johnson likely has an intimate understanding of how crunch can affect both studio culture and the end product. It’s good to know, then, that Double Fine managed to see its vision through to completion without unhealthy workplace conditions.
Interestingly, this news comes on the heels of several Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart developers claiming that they never encountered crunch during the game’s production at Insomniac Games. This particular bit of insight made the rounds due to Rift Apart’s high scores and critical acclaim, all of which proves crunch isn’t necessary to produce an ambitious project. These types of feel good stories continue to become more and more notable since many of the industry’s big-name developers, such as BioWare, CD Projekt Red, and Naughty Dog, have sat at the center of reports revolving around unhealthy uses of crunch practices.
Psychonauts 2 comes to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms on August 25.
