While Double Fine is likely best known for the critically acclaimed Psychonauts and the more recent crowdfunding success story Broken Age — games that can be loosely grouped under the “adventure” banner — the company’s catalog is much more diverse than that. Strategy, light RPG, and straight-up action games all make appearances.
Iron Brigade, originally released in 2011 as Trenched, falls firmly into the action genre, with a bit of tower defense on the side. Though Double Fine developed the game, it was published by Microsoft, and this caused some problems for players of the PC version, as it was tied to the broken Games For Windows Live service.
In 2013, we reported that Double Fine boss Tim Schafer wanted to get the rights to the company’s games back under one roof. Now the company is one step closer to that goal. Yesterday, Double Fine announced that it had regained the intellectual property rights to Iron Brigade, and will be adding it to its stable of self-published titles.
As part of the game’s return home, Double Fine is releasing an update to the Steam version of the game. This includes removing GFWL and restoring the game’s original matchmaking system, steps that should elicit a collective cheer from the game’s fans. One thing that hasn’t been changed is the game’s name: Double Fine has no intention of having its name revert to Trenched.
“The great thing about this change is that now there are no obstacles to us creating the best possible experience for players,” Double Fine’s Brad Muir said. “We have fixed all known issues as well as provided a great matchmaking experience for multiplayer. Vlad and his Monovision Menace are on the move again! In the best possible way!”
Not only has Double Fine made Iron Brigade more playable, they’ve also made it an easier buy. To celebrate the game’s new life, the Steam version has been discounted by 80 percent, down to $2.99.
