Report: Double Fine's union drive collapsed amid miscommunication and culture clash
According to Kotaku, the May petition was withdrawn after months of internal tension; Tim Schafer denies the July layoffs were linked.
Double Fine employees filed a petition to unionise in May 2026, which was later withdrawn. A Kotaku report, summarised by Game Developer, blames the failure on confusion over who was eligible (US law excludes those with hiring and firing power, and in a flat studio many had been "managers" at some point), fears of damaging the company culture, and an earlier clash over crunch.
In July the studio laid off 23 people, eight of them union organisers. CEO Tim Schafer says nobody was let go for that reason: "We didn't target people for layoffs." The report draws on anonymous sources and an hour-long interview with Schafer.
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