Barely any time since they’ve split from Xbox, Double Fine is about to release their next oddball game, Thank You Bus Driver. The game will launch on 14th October for PC, via Steam, GOG and Itch.io.
Thank You Bus Driver is a bus driving game, of course, but one that’s especially chaotic as you have to manage your passengers, keep rulebreaking to a minimum, stay on your bus route, and get to each stop on time.
That sounds relatively simple, right? But it does mean you’ll be taking your eyes off the road quite a lot, whether it’s to double check the map so you’ve got the right turn, or swivelling to dish out a good slap across the chops to a particularly unruly passenger.
All this and you might get a few Thank Yous as people get off, which are the currency for the game’s progression.
It’s a timely announcement, given that Amnesia Fortnight 2026 is currently rolling on Kickstarter, though with just 31 more hours for anyone to back it. Sadly, it looks like it will come up just shy of the $100 million target that would get Tim Schafer to commit to a Brutal Legend 2. There’s still time for some billionaire benefactor to swoop in and do the right thing, but it’s not looking terribly likely right now.
Double Fine went independent again in July, Schafer organising a management buyout after Microsoft put them, and a bunch of other studios, on notice. It’s been a tumultuous few months at Xbox, with the swell of positivity following Summer Game Fest dashed just a week later as rumours of massive layoffs and studio closures grew. In the end, Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs were all set for sale or independence, and while three have secured it, Ninja Theory remains at serious risk of closure after this month’s wild reshuffle.
Source: Double Fine
