Hi folks! It's Heather again, here to tell you that the time is basically upon us!

Next Wednesday, you, and the world will get to enjoy Psychonauts 2 and so much of that is owed to you and your contributions here. We cannot thank you enough. It's been a long process (though I've only been here for the last year of it) and we appreciate your patience. Heading into launch we'll be assisting folks with their codes and game access. For the moment, we have a video update reflecting on the last six years of bringing this game to life.

Launching a game is always special but Psychonauts 2 was a very large undertaking that touched a lot of people's lives and became a real part of What Was Up With Them for a long time.

It's the follow up to a cult classic, it's a crowdfunding success, it's a game that was able to grow with publisher support, and also one which had to face (as we all have) the challenges of the pandemic and real life surprises both good and ill. Finishing it is both a good feeling and a sad one. There's a weight off people's shoulders and an excitement to share Raz’s new adventures with the world. But there's a bit of a momma bird deal too, seeing the game fly out of the nest is nerve wracking, scary and bittersweet.

Thankfully, throughout all of this we've had each other and even you wonderful backers coming with us for the ride. While things are still tough in the real world, the team is finally getting together again and we’ll be able to celebrate together next week in person for launch. Maybe we'll even peek in on your livestreams? I think that'd kick butt.

Basic Braining Episode 6 - Pins and Upgrades

I'm also excited to bring you another Basic Braining episode on what is, if I can be bold, my favorite feature in the game. This is THE thing I've been dying to tell folks about even though I teased it on Twitter the other day: pins!

Pins are equippable swag that allow you to customize your abilities. That can be as simple as changing the color of your levball, to something as useful as making it easier to grab dropped items. Some are a tradeoff: do you want to do more damage but also take more damage in return? Do you think a Time Bubble that speeds things up offers you the chaos you desire? Others are just for fun: petting animals, or giving Raz the impetus to dance like the one and only Bobby Zilch. Pins are the thing that make it all possible, they allow you to customize your favorite powers and allow Raz to express himself a little more.

Psychonauts 2 on the Xbox Gear Store

This morning we launched a new range of Psychonauts 2 merchandise in partnership with the Xbox Gear store. Hopefully once you play the game next week you’ll continue to be fans of the series, and should that happen then perhaps you’ll want to walk around with Raz all over you, and in that case we have you covered!

Along with the Pride themed merch we released a few months ago, these items will hopefully be just the start of more fun Psychonauts 2 and other Double Fine merch to come! Check out the full collection on the Gear Store.

A Gift From Xbox

I also have a bit of a surprise unrelated to all this. I’ve not been around as long as you all have. I don’t remember the Before Times when the Double Fine was not a part of Xbox Game Studios, but we are now and along with their general support comes a few perks.In this case, the folks upstairs have decided that they’d like to gift every Psychonauts 2 backer a complimentary Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1 month membership code! These codes will be given out alongside and in addition to any other codes you are already owed for backing this campaign.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will get you access to more than 100 games – PC Gaming, Xbox console gaming, even cloud gaming on mobile and PC - including some Double Fine games like Brütal Legend, Grim Fandango Remastered, and of course the game of the hour, Psychonauts 2. Use your membership to play a ton of games, get game discounts and perks, or you can gift the membership code to a friend or family member!

Before you go - as a reminder, all game codes, whether PC or console, will be distributed to you via Humble on Tuesday, August 24th (PST). See this backer update for more info!

The game is right around the corner! Continued love and appreciation to you all; I can’t wait to see what you think about the game next week.