Overview
- Employees at Double Fine filed for an NLRB union but the organizing committee withdrew the petition after intense internal backlash and eligibility disputes.
- Confusion over who counted as eligible to join, plus loud disputes on Slack and in person, fractured support and prompted some signers to retract their authorization.
- Following Microsoft’s decision to spin the studio out, Double Fine laid off 23 people, including all eight organizing‑committee members who had signed the withdrawal letter.
- Studio leadership says Double Fine is now independent and has only months of runway, and it supplemented funds with a crowdfunded Amnesia Fortnight that exceeded its goal.
- The episode highlights legal uncertainty about manager and contractor eligibility, the end of a prior Microsoft neutrality pact, and wider industry labor gains that still leave many workers exposed.