{"id":61220,"date":"2026-06-16T20:16:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=61220"},"modified":"2026-06-16T20:16:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:16:59","slug":"double-fine-issues-single-emoji-response-to-closure-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=61220","title":{"rendered":"Double Fine Issues Single Emoji Response to Closure Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Psychonauts developer Double Fine has responded to the reports of its potential closure with a single emoji.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The San Francisco studio is one of a number of Microsoft-owned developers reportedly fighting for their future amid a significant shakeup at Xbox that is expected to result in layoffs across the gaming business later this month. Hellblade developer Ninja Theory, which announced its new game Senua at Xbox Games Showcase just over a week ago, and South of Midnight maker Compulsion are also reportedly in negotiations with Microsoft over a potential buyout in a bid to avoid closure.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Tim Schafer\u2019s Double Fine is perhaps most famous for the Psychonauts franchise. Microsoft bought the studio in June 2019 and signed on as Psychonauts 2 publisher. Double Fine then released Keeper in 2025 and Kiln earlier this year, both of which were not commercial hits.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Every Video Game Franchise Xbox Owns After Acquiring Activision Blizzard<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" decoding=\"async\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Yesterday, <u>The Game Business<\/u> reported that Xbox Game Studios boss Craig Duncan had stepped down. News of various Microsoft studios potentially closing down was not far behind. IGN has asked Microsoft for comment but it is yet to respond.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Double Fine did issue a single emoji social media post, summing up how it feels right now: a smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-313219616\"><img alt=\"null\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image article-image article-image-full-size jsx-1809694635 jsx-2338608387\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><figcaption data-cy=\"caption\" class=\"caption jsx-1762799490 jsx-479945570 article-image-caption\">Double Fine&#8217;s emoji social media post sums up the situation the studio finds itself in.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">According to Bloomberg, Compulsion, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine aren\u2019t the only Microsoft studios currently negotiating with Xbox to try to avoid closure. There is the potential for some or all to buy their way to independence, although that would likely come alongside layoffs, too.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Earlier this month, new Xbox boss Asha Sharma warned of a company &#8220;reset&#8221; that most took as a signal that Microsoft planned big layoffs and studio closures. <u>One analyst told IGN<\/u> &#8220;the studios most exposed are brilliant for prestige and rotten for the spreadsheet.&#8221; Microsoft was then said to be <u>speeding up development on new The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo games<\/u> as it considered restructuring or even spinning off its gaming branch.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sharma&#8217;s ground-shaking memo revealed that Microsoft&#8217;s gaming business currently has a 3% accountability margin (assumed to mean profit margin), which is down year-on-year. &#8220;Excluding Activision Blizzard King, over the past five years, we have spent over $20 billion on ongoing investments in our content, platform, and hardware subsidy, but our annual revenue has declined nearly half a billion during that time. Going forward, this cannot continue,&#8221; Sharma said.<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"tierlist-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" id=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\" data-cy=\"xbox-games-series-tier-list\">\n<div class=\"card jsx-1339469126 jsx-1355461925 box jsx-2627838217\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442 jsx-2986308351\"><span class=\"stack jsx-2959124702 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_header__xyy5a\"><span class=\"stack jsx-3647836811 jsx-4269505506 TierListHeader_title__UxzQx\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ign-icon icon-tier-list jsx-2750866048 jsx-1879929830\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"false\" data-cy=\"icon-tier-list\" alt=\"Tier List\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/TierList.c19f1c86.svg?cors=0\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 data-cy=\"title3\" class=\"title3 jsx-12333944 jsx-2321054750 TierListHeader_full__J6p2u\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-957202555 TierListHeader_compact__7JWp1 balanced\">Xbox Games Series Tier List<\/h3>\n<p><\/span><\/span><span class=\"stack jsx-3547261442\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Following the release of the memo, <u>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said &#8220;there&#8217;s more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube&#8221; than at Xbox<\/u>, adding that the Xbox team needed to figure out how to &#8220;innovate both in hardware, as well as in the games, going forward in an economically viable way.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;No one can accuse Microsoft of not having invested for the last 25 years,&#8221; Nadella added. &#8220;Now, we have to turn this into a sustainable business that delivers what is fundamentally one of the best sources of entertainment, still.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">This week\u2019s news marks a significant U-turn on Xbox brand sentiment, after Sharma had started to turn core fans around with a number of crowd-pleasing changes such as the decision to make The Coalition&#8217;s Gears of War: E-Day and inXile&#8217;s Clockworld Revolution console exclusives. The Xbox layoffs are expected to come into effect at the end of Microsoft&#8217;s financial year on June 30.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images.<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/psychonauts-developer-double-fine-responds-to-closure-reports-with-a-single-emoji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Psychonauts developer Double Fine has responded to the reports of its potential closure with a single emoji. The San Francisco studio is one of a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[743,4171,24856,7393,3952,10722,3411,2451],"class_list":["post-61220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-closure","tag-double","tag-emoji","tag-fine","tag-issues","tag-reports","tag-response","tag-single","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/61221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}