The next entry in the Psychonauts series, Psychonauts 2, just hit an important mark on the road to release as developer Double Fine revealed the game has gone gold. The action-platformer will finally release later this month.

Psychonauts 2 is the long-awaited numbered follow-up to the original Psychonauts, which released in 2005. The series is known for its unique format of having levels set inside the subconscious minds of characters. The initial announcement of Psychonauts 2 dates back to the 2015 Game Awards and since then the release has been delayed several times, so the game finally going gold some six years later is a major milestone.

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"Going gold" means the game has reached master copy status, and is considered ready to start physical production and prepared for release. In the modern game development landscape this is not the end for most developers as many continue working to prepare post-launch updates containing bugfixes and additional content, but going gold is still an event worthy of celebration because it is considered the final major landmark leading up to the initial release.

Psychonauts 2 is one of many games coming to Xbox Game Pass day one, so Game Pass subscribers can play it as soon as it officially launches. However, Psychonauts 2 is also set to release on PC and PlayStation 4 with backwards compatibility support for PlayStation 5, so non-Xbox owners will still have the option to purchase the game. It is fortunate that Microsoft's acquisition does not seem to have affected what platforms Double Fine is allowed to release games on, and hopefully this will not change for future releases.

The story of Psychonauts 2 is a direct continuation from Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, the previous game in the series. Like the previous games, Psychonauts 2 will have a heavy focus on thematic elements exploring the human mind, and bring with it the creative dreamlike settings the franchise is known for. Being about the human mind, there are some heavy implicit topics that are difficult to avoid, so the developers consulted with a mental health professional to make sure they portray mental health conditions in a respectful and accurate way. It seems even given the game's fantastical setting, the developers want to keep at least some elements grounded in reality.

Kevin Johnson, the game's senior producer, claims Psychonauts 2 was developed with no crunch, which is very fitting considering the series' focus on themes of mental health. Even with Double Fine's acquisition by Microsoft, the studio remains committed to its core principles.

Psychonauts 2 will launch on August 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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