Thimbleweek Park 2, the upcoming sequel to the 2017 cult classic, is reportedly being funded by a sole ‘wealthy outsider’.

This comes from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, who interviewed creator Ron Gilbert regarding the creation of the sequel. Despite making more than $620,000 through Kickstarter for the original game, Gilbert wanted to avoid the crowdfunding site for its sequel. He also received plenty of interest from traditional publishers, but ultimately ruled this out too.

“I don’t mind the publisher earning back their money. It’s just that once they have earned back their money and become whole, they still want the majority of the money. Or there are really goofy terms, like you don’t make anything unless it’s a major hit. I always felt that was unfair.”

So, according to Gilbert, a friend got in touch who knew someone who wanted to fund the game. This is an individual (who has requested to remain anonymous) who isn’t involved in the games industry, but is simply a big fan of adventure games and Thimbleweed Park specifically.

Gilbert proposed a budget for roughly two years of development on the sequel; a figure that would be more than the $1 million required for the original, as Gilbert wanted to account for inflation and ensure that everyone is paid fairly.

The investor agreed to this, and that was it. “This deal is a lot more fair in that he gets whole very quickly, and then it’s a reasonable split”, Gilbert said.

Thimbleweed Park 2 has not been confirmed for the Switch or Switch 2 at this early stage (correction – yes it has!), but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it. It’s currently targeting a release in early 2028.