Investors that poured cash into Psychonauts 2 during the game’s Fig crowdfunding campaign last year will be seeing a return on their investment, though Microsoft’s acquisition of the company has changed the form that payout will take.
In an email picked up by Destructoid, Fig explains that the Psychonauts 2 campaign won’t be distributing payments to investors based on how the game sells as had been previously planned. Instead, the company will send out a fixed payment to each investor that amounts to a 139 percent return on each $500 share.
The shift is entirely due to the fact that Microsoft acquired Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine earlier this year, and has now purchased publishing rights for the game from Fig. That sale saw Microsoft paying Fig just over $1 million for its rights, funds that the company says will flow back into the pockets of those that invested in the game on the platform.
Because of those unusual circumstances, Fig is paying out a dividend rate of 85 percent on what it received for the sale, which is slightly more than the 70 percent it had promised had the campaign gone to plan. Though that payout percentage is higher than the original deal, investors are now getting just that one lump sum rather than the periodic (and potentially higher) payouts they would have seen had the game sold exceedingly well.
Psychonauts 2 remains one of Fig’s largest campaigns to date, alongside games like Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and Wasteland 3. The crowdfunding run surpassed its goal back in 2016 with $3.8 million raised. Nearly $1.9 million of those funds were made up of investments rather than traditional crowdfunding pledges.
“As you may already know, Double Fine has recently announced it is joining the Microsoft family — we are excited for them to start the next stage in their journey of making unique and creative games and can’t wait to see what they do next,” reads part of the email published by Destructoid. “As a part of this transition, Microsoft has also purchased Fig’s publishing rights for Psychonauts 2, for a price of $1,035,000, which will provide a positive return to all investors in Fig Game Shares — PSY2 prior to the game even launching!”
Scooping up Fig’s rights to Psychonauts 2 isn’t the first big purchase relating to the property Microsoft has made since it acquired Double Fine for an undisclosed sum earlier this year. The company also purchased the publishing rights to the game from its now-former publisher Starbreeze for $13.2 million, a deal that came just as Starbreeze itself was reevaluating its gameplan in an effort to stay financially afloat.