Rumors about Xbox shutting down various studios have been circulating, and Double Fine has addressed the claims on social media with a cryptic emoji. Xbox purchased Double Fine back in 2019, and the long-running studio has released several games under its ownership.
Double Fine is most well-known for games like Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, but the studio has a variety of other creative projects under its belt. Just this year, a new Double Fine game hit the scene with Kiln, which was a pottery-based brawler. It was a unique premise, but it struggled to find an audience. Kiln‘s player count particularly struggled on Steam, and rumors are now claiming that the developer might be one of the next teams to be shut down by Xbox.
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Double Fine Responds to Xbox Shut-Down Rumors
Double Fine’s official Twitter account simply posted an emoji smiling with a single bead of sweat sliding down its forehead. It’s hard to know exactly what Double Fine means by its cryptic emoji response, but it might be a confirmation that there is at least some kind of trouble afoot. The way people use emojis varies from person to person, but that particular emoji choice is generally used to signal feeling nervous. If Double Fine really is being shut down, it’s not the first studio to face such hurdles. Reports that Xbox is shutting down Compulsion Games, the developer of South of Midnight, have also sprung up recently.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
Even though Double Fine’s tweet is worrisome, Xbox has yet to formally announce whether they are fully shutting down the studio or not. There have been recent reports that Xbox has planned layoffs for July. It’s possible that Double Fine could be hit with some of these layoffs while remaining a functioning studio. Only time will tell, though.
In addition to Double Fine and Compulsion Games, there are also reports that Xbox is shutting down Ninja Theory. This is particularly surprising, because a new Hellblade game was just announced at the most recent Xbox Games Showcase. With major games like Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day, and Fable set to release down the road, these reported studio closures may be a signal that Xbox is pivoting more of its focus toward its biggest AAA IPs and less on smaller titles.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Ever since Xbox CEO Asha Sharma took control of the company, she has made several key moves that have been viewed positively by a lot of gamers. Some of these decisions have included lowering the price of Game Pass and pushing for more exclusive titles. This is bound to be one of her first controversial acts, though. Xbox is no stranger to enacting layoffs and shutting down studios, but it’s always a shock for both the employees of the companies and the fans who love their games. Even if Double Fine and other smaller Xbox-owned studios are shut down, there is the chance that they could be picked up by other companies or go independent. However, this remains to be seen.
- Released
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April 23, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Crude Humor, Language, Users Interact
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer