Last year, Microsoft acquired Double Fine and added it to its list of developers for Xbox Game Studios. Whenever a major publisher acquires an indie developer, there are always concerns about creative compromise and meddling, but apparently that is the only reason "Psychonauts 2" still has boss fights.

Last year, Tim Schafer explained why this deal happened because Double Fine no longer had to sell to so many publishers and the money was pretty good; in a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Schafer now a bit more about the possible changes. Prior to the acquisition, Double Fine was short on cash and had cut "Psychonauts 2," but by partnering with Xbox Game Studios, they were able to put away the shears.

"With 'Psychonauts 2,' we cut a lot of stuff because we were seeing the end of the budget," said Double Fine. 'We also cut the boss fight. I think people would have noticed if we didn't have boss fights."

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Schaefer now "looks forward to doing things for the right reasons," rather than working on parts of the game early or starting on the art before the design is finished.

Other than that, things don't seem to have changed, just "no fear of going out of business all the time."

The message Xbox Game Studios clearly wants to convey is that it supports its developers with money and plenty of resources, but still lets them have free rein. [Obsidian boss Feargus Urquhart says, "The only thing that has really changed in my day-to-day life is that I no longer have to play the role of getting funding from publishers. My approach to development has also changed. When you develop a game as an independent, a lot of times how you develop the game depends on your partners. It was cool to be able to use our years of experience and say, 'Hey, we can make the game the way we want to make it.'"

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The relationship is touted as the best of both worlds, and it is unlikely that a developer who receives significant funding from Microsoft would make critical comments in an interview prepared by a publisher. Nevertheless, it seems like a better arrangement than many studios have been forced to make in the past; Psychonauts 2, Grounded, and Wasteland 3 are all due out this year.