Double Fine launches its Amnesia Fortnight 2026 Kickstarter

Double Fine Productions launched the Kickstarter campaign for Amnesia Fortnight 2026 today, marking the studio's first public game jam since 2019. The newly independent developer is asking the community to fund a two-week prototyping session, where backers will vote on which internal pitches get made.

The campaign arrives just a month after the San Francisco-based studio separated from Xbox Game Studios in July 2026. Double Fine downsized by 23 employees to adjust to independent operations. This crowdfunding effort is a direct return to the community-driven model that defined its output throughout the 2010s.

Tim Schafer founded Double Fine in 2000 after a long run at LucasArts directing adventure games like Grim Fandango and Full Throttle. The studio has always operated on its own weird wavelength. When they launched the Double Fine Adventure campaign in 2012, it basically ignited the modern video game crowdfunding boom. Now, they are going back to the well.

26 pitches and four prototypes

Backers of the Amnesia Fortnight 2026 Kickstarter can review 26 internal game pitches from Double Fine employees. The community votes to select four ideas for active prototype development during the jam. Once the two weeks are up, one victorious prototype will receive funding to become a completed, smaller-scale commercial release.

Amnesia Fortnight started as an internal studio exercise in 2007 during a gap in Brütal Legend's development. Schafer and his team eventually opened the process to the public in 2012. Over the years, these jams birthed several full games, including Costume Quest, Stacking, and Iron Brigade. Other prototypes ended up influencing major sequences in Psychonauts 2.

The pitching process is notoriously open. Anyone in the studio can submit an idea, regardless of their normal job title. Giving backers the power to greenlight prototypes means the community directly shapes the studio's next commercial release. It is a chaotic way to run a business, but Double Fine has a track record of making it work.

The documentary crew returns

Longtime collaborators 2 Player Productions are filming the entire 2026 event. The production company previously documented the studio's development cycles in the multi-part series Double Fine Adventure! and Double Fine PsychOdyssey.

The inclusion of 2 Player Productions is almost as important as the game jam itself. Their previous docuseries did not shy away from the messy realities of game development. They captured budget shortfalls, creative disagreements, and technical disasters with total transparency. I am curious to see how the cameras capture the mood of a studio that just went through a major corporate separation and layoffs.

The campaign was initially teased last week, but today's launch officially opens the voting process. It runs through September, and backers will get access to the playable prototypes once the jam concludes. The winning project will then enter full production.