Double Fine to release Keeper in October

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Lee Petty's wordless fantasy adventure about a sentient lighthouse and bird companion unveiled for PC and Xbox platforms

Adventure games from Tim Schafer's Double Fine Productions are few and far between, so the announcement of one is always cause for celebration. That being the case, pop the champagne because a stunning new title was just announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 called Keeper. 

On a remote island long after humanity has disappeared from the Earth, a "forgotten lighthouse stands dormant in the shadow of a distant mountain peak." Suddenly, inexplicably, something strange happens: it begins to crack, crumble and topple over. Far from destroyed, however, it then miraculously mends itself and stands up a sentient being, unable to talk but able to move – clumsily, hesitantly at first – and cast its light where it wills. Sadly, the world it awakens to is in trouble, as a "creeping malevolent presence" has begun spreading its "withering tendrils" across the island, causing devastation wherever it goes. And so, joined by a "spirited seabird" and filled with a "mysterious sense of purpose," the Lighthouse "embarks upon a heartening tale of unlikely companionship" towards the mountain at the center of the island.

Keeper was conceived by Lee Petty, whose work adventure fans surely know from Broken Age, Psychonauts 2, and as the Creative Lead on the wonderfully unique Stacking. Inspired by the concepts of "loneliness, isolation, companionship, and the very fate of humanity" born out of the recent pandemic, Petty began to make sketches at the time that have now coalesced into this wordless world of devastating beauty (or perhaps devastated beauty). Described as an "atmospheric adventure filled with exploration, puzzle solving, and unexpected departures from reality," Keeper is a stunning third-person experience that takes players across a variety of familiar but slightly alien-feeling landscapes on an epic "odyssey of mystifying metamorphosis" that will see the two companions journey "into realms beyond understanding."

There's more to the experience than just soaking in the wondrous sights and hauntingly rich atmosphere, of course. To progress, players will need to make strategic use of both the Lighthouse and bird's abilities to fend off the encroaching menace and overcome the many physical obstacles in their path. The Lighthouse's beam is "able to affect the flora and fauna, and even seems to ward off the withering tendrils spreading throughout the world around it," while the bird is able to fly and can "interact with strange and ancient mechanisms." Along the way they'll encounter a wide variety of other fantastical creatures, both natural and mechanical, as they continue their ascent to the peak of the magical mountain beckoning them.

There's more good news, too. Often a new game announcement just starts a years-long wait for the actual product, but Keeper is already well along in development and due for release on October 17th on Steam for Windows PC, as well as on Xbox and Xbox Series X|S platforms, including day one on Game Pass.