Thimbleweed Park 2 Is Being Funded By A Sole ‘Wealthy Outsider’
Thimbleweed Park 2, the upcoming sequel to the 2017 cult classic, will be funded by a wealthy video game enthusiast and fan of the original game—an unusual path to game development financing. Creator Ron Gilbert deliberately avoided both crowdfunding and traditional publisher involvement for the sequel. Despite the original game’s successful $620,000 Kickstarter campaign, Gilbert wanted to sidestep crowdfunding altogether. He also received multiple offers from conventional publishers but decided against working with them, citing negative past experiences with traditional industry approaches to game development.
The funding arrangement emerged through a personal connection: a friend of Gilbert’s introduced him to the investor, who is a devoted fan of the original game and expressed enthusiasm about supporting a sequel. This approach preserves Gilbert’s creative independence while avoiding the constraints and obligations inherent in both crowdfunding campaigns and publisher partnerships. The story exemplifies a rarely realized fantasy among game developers—a wealthy individual directly funding game development based on genuine passion for the creator’s work.