Culture 4 min read By Lauren Baxter
Double Fine says ‘Brutal Legend’ sequel hinges on $100 million crowdfund goal
Double Fine Productions has launched a Kickstarter for a two-week game jam, with a $100 million stretch goal that would trigger development of ‘Brutal Legend 2.’
Double Fine Productions has announced that a sequel to the cult metal-themed adventure game ‘Brutal Legend’ will only happen if fans raise $100 million through the studio’s latest crowdfunding campaign. The studio, which recently regained its independence after being affected by a major shake-up at Xbox earlier this year, launched a Kickstarter for a two-week “game jam” project called ‘Amnesia Fortnight 2026.’
The campaign, which went live on August 31, 2026, invites donors to vote on 26 game pitches developed by the team, with one prototype emerging as the winner. The money raised will also fund a documentary from 2 Player Productions. Double Fine has already surpassed its initial target of £296,415 with 27 days remaining, but the single stretch goal is set at the eye-watering sum of $100 million.
“Yes, really. We do feel like it behooves us to tell you that the most successful Kickstarter ever made about $46million, so this is a stretch goal,” the studio wrote in the campaign description. If that threshold is reached, Double Fine has promised to make ‘Brutal Legend 2,’ a sequel fans have awaited for 17 years since the original’s release in 2009.
The announcement has drawn a mixed response from the gaming community. Some fans expressed frustration on Reddit, with one writing, “People have wanted this for 17 years and they use it to drum up attention for a dogshit Kickstarter.” Another commenter on X echoed the sentiment, saying, “People are saying Double Fine are just kidding around about the Brutal Legend 2 thing. Here is the problem though: you are still promising something that may not happen and people are giving money under that false pretence.”
Double Fine was one of several studios affected by a major restructuring at Xbox earlier this year, which saw four studios change ownership and more than 3,200 staff members laid off. Now operating independently, the studio has full control of its library of previous releases, including ‘Psychonauts,’ ‘Kiln,’ and ‘Brutal Legend.’ The game jam format is a return to a tradition the studio has used before, allowing team members to “forget about all the things they should be working on to pitch one another their wildest game ideas, choose their favourites and make prototypes of them.”
“It’s fun! It’s stressful! It’s pretty incredible what you can make in just two weeks,” the studio explained in the campaign pitch. The crowdfunder gives donors a direct say in which of the 26 projects are explored further after the jam concludes.
Last month, Double Fine made ‘Brutal Legend’ free to download for 666 hours following the death of actor Tim Curry, who voiced the villain Emperor Doviculus in the game. The tribute move reignited interest in the title and its long-rumored sequel prospects. While the $100 million goal remains highly unlikely — no crowdfunding campaign in history has come close to that figure — the studio’s willingness to set such an ambitious target has sparked debate about the ethics of dangling beloved franchises as stretch goals.
