Double Fine selling first half of Broken Age via Steam Early Access in January 2014

Double Fine is currently planning to launch the initial half of its adventure game Broken Age via Steam Early Access in January 2014, founder Tim Schafer announced via the game's Kickstarter page.

Schafer writes that Broken Age has continued to grow and needs further funding to finish in a timely manner. Rather than returning to Kickstarter or asking a publisher, Double Fine will offer the half-version to the public through Early Access pricing. According to Schafer, releasing half of the game first will help improve the project's efficiency without reducing its scope. Original estimates for the first half of the game placed it in July 2014, with a full version coming in 2015.

"This was a huge wake-up call for all of us," Schafer wrote. "If this were true, we weren't going to have to cut the game in half, we were going to have to cut it down by 75 percent! What would be left? How would we even cut it down that far?"

By launching the incomplete game early, Double Fine can forgo asking for more money and players will get Broken Age sooner. Additionally, Double Fine won't have to "cut the game down drastically," Schafer wrote.

"We were always planning to release the beta on Steam, but in addition to that we now have Steam Early Access, which is a new opportunity that actually lets you charge money for pre-release content," Schafer wrote. "That means we could actually sell this early access version of the game to the public at large, and use that money to fund the remaining game development.

"Backers still get the whole game this way — nobody has to pay again for the second half."

Backers will still receive exclusive beta access before Double Fine sells the early release. The second part of the game is expected "a few months down the road, closer to April-May."

We've reached out to Double Fine for comment and will update accordingly.

Broken Age was funded through Kickstarter last year as Double Fine Adventure. The game's official title was announced in March at PAX East.

Update: Double Fine has declined to comment.