Psychonauts 2 spring update video is filled with behind the scenes footage, meetings, and jokes

Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine Productions has posted a spring update video, sharing details on the final stages of development for the long-anticipated game.

The video features plenty of in-game footage, including a load of behind-the-scenes shots of developers editing sections, squashing bugs, and fixing problems that playtesters found in their playthroughs. It ranges from adding lighting effects in to help the player see the game world, down to balancing the challenge versus reward ratio of the puzzles in the game. It’s all coming together nicely and as Tim Schafer himself says, it’s coming “soon”.

We also get to see a load of footage from team meetings, giving us a window into the day-to-day goings on around Double Fine. Shout out to Tim Schafer’s dynamic background which is Hans Gruber from Die Hard falling from Nakatomi Tower. We wonder if Tim is excited for the new Die Hard add-ons in Call of Duty Warzone? 

Later in the development update we get to see the musical talent behind much of the game’s soundtrack, which includes the original musical trio that created the soundtrack to Monkey Island. Michael Land, Clint Bajakian, and Peter McConnell lay down some funky beats and reveal their inspirations for their sound, and the sound of Psychonauts 2.

Outside of the Psychonauts 2 updates, there are also some personal tidbits scattered throughout the video. We get to see Tim Schafer getting his COVID-19 shot (which comes up later in a pretty funny gag later where he teases an Xbox version of Smash Bros), and the video closes with Tim getting his iconic, Jack Black-esque hair cut off.

We still don’t get a firm release date from Schafer, who will only confirm that it is 100% coming in 2021, but given how far along the development seems to be from this video, his earlier statement of “soon” does seem likely. While you’re waiting, check out the latest Psychonauts 2 gameplay trailer that we reported on yesterday too.

Psychonauts 2 will be launching on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, and PS4. While Double Fine is now an Xbox studio, the team committed to releasing Psychonauts 2 on all previously announced platforms which is why it’s showing up on PS4. Like all Xbox first-party games, Psychonauts 2 will also launch into Xbox Game Pass on release day.

See what else Microsoft’s studios have in store for us with these upcoming Xbox Series X games.