The development of Thimbleweed Park 2 was financed by a wealthy fan of the original game
At the end of July, Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert and his studio Terrible Toybox announced the second part of the detective adventure Thimbleweed Park. It has now been revealed that the new game is being funded by a fan of the original game.
Thimbleweed Park
In an interview with Bloomberg, Gilbert revealed that he had long been nurturing the idea of Thimbleweed Park 2, but the development of the title required funding. He didn't like the terms of collaboration offered by publishers and had no desire to launch a Kickstarter campaign.
"I have nothing against publishers needing to recoup their investments. It's just that even after they break even, they still want to take a large share of the revenue. Sometimes the conditions are absurd. For instance, you aren't allowed to earn anything until the game becomes a big hit. I've always thought that was unfair," Gilbert complained.
Ultimately, Gilbert might have had to compromise, but an unusual offer saved him from that. At one point, he was contacted by a friend who claimed to know a wealthy fan of Thimbleweed Park willing to support the development of the sequel. Gilbert was skeptical at first but agreed to talk with the potential investor — and it was a wise decision.
According to the co-founder of Terrible Toybox, the investor offered much more attractive terms than any publisher. They agreed that the investor would "quickly recoup" his investment first, and then they would "reasonably" split the revenue from subsequent sales of Thimbleweed Park 2. Gilbert did not specify the exact amount of money provided by the investor but noted that the funding exceeded the budget of the original Thimbleweed Park, which was just over $1 million at the time.
Thimbleweed Park 2 is expected to be released in early 2028.