A fresh Kotaku report details how Double Fine's brief union effort in May collapsed after just 13 days amid eligibility disputes and internal friction that pitted colleagues against each other. The petition, filed with the NLRB on May 7 with 32 signatures representing roughly 75% of the proposed bargaining unit of 42 employees, was withdrawn on May 20 after organizers cited mounting pressure and negative reactions in Slack channels and the workplace. Flat studio hierarchies blurred manager eligibility under federal rules, while longstanding cultural quirks—including fallout from the infamous "Bad Meeting" chronicled in the PsychOdyssey documentary—amplified divisions.

Founder Tim Schafer stayed hands-off during the process, telling Kotaku he felt he "couldn’t interfere between eligible employees talking," and later denied any connection between the drive and the July 28 layoffs of 23 staffers that included all eight signatories of the withdrawal notice. Those laid off received severance packages Schafer said were calibrated to match prior Microsoft terms. The episode unfolded as Microsoft spun the studio independent amid its broader Xbox reset, leaving Double Fine with limited runway and a fractured team dynamic.

The report paints a studio where sincere procedural questions escalated into personal conflicts, with some workers reportedly yelling at colleagues and others withdrawing support over fears of cultural erosion. Leadership viewed the cuts as necessary for survival as an independent entity, while the organizers' experience suggests the very protections they sought remain elusive.