Beloved X-Files-inspired game gets surprise sequel reveal ahead of Ryan Coogler's TV reboot

If you're a fan of The X-Files and love a point-and-click adventure game, you're in luck. Following the original run of nine seasons across 202 episodes, The X-Files returned for a soft reboot in 2016 and then bowed out with a shortened eleventh season in 2018.

There were also two theatrically released movies, making David Duchovny's Fox Sculder and Gillian Anderson's Dana Scully household names in the '90s. We've since seen the likes of Fringe and Supernatural come onto the scene, but with The X-Files remembered as one of the greatest sci-fi shows of all time, is it any surprise a reboot is on the way from Black Panther's Ryan Coogler?

We've also seen a handful of The X-Files games, like a 1998 point-and-click adventure and 2004's The X-Files: Resist or Serve as a traditional survival horror.

Thimbleweed Park continues to scratch that X-Files itch

Terrible Toybox

While we wait for Coogler's take on The X-Files (that apparently won't feature Duchovny or Anderson), there's exciting news from the gaming world. Legendary adventure game designer Ron Gilbert has confirmed that Thimbleweed Park 2 is on the way.

Away from his work on Monkey Island, Gilbert carved an impressive cult following with the OG Thimbleweed Park. Serving as a spiritual successor to Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park was released by Terrible Toybox in 2017. The mystery adventure casts players as the decidedly Mulder and Scully-inspired FBI agents Angela Ray and Antonio Reyes, as well as three other madcap characters that include a smart-mouthed clown.

The pair arrived in the titular Thimbleweed Park to investigate a murder, and while we won't spoil the big twist here, it definitely feels like Thimbleweed Park has a lot to say in a terrifying tech world of 2026.

With this in mind, Thimbleweed Park 2 is on the way. Posting on his GrumpyGamer blog, Gilbert wrote: "I have good news and bad news. First, the good news. The good news is that we just started production on Thimbleweed Park 2, due out in early 2028.

“We will self-publish with the help of a private investor. Mark Ferrari, Gary Winnick, David Fox, Octavi Navarro, Robert Megone, and others from the original team will be back!"

In terms of the bad news, he was playing with us all, telling fans to wishlist the game on Steam and before adding: "Now the bad news. There is no bad news, it’s all good news."

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What do we know about Thimbleweed Park 2?

There's not much else to go on in terms of what to expect from Thimbleweed Park 2, although the game's Steam page confirms Reyes, Ray, Ransome the Clown, Delores, and Franklin will be back.

Murder is afoot again, but this time, a body lies up at the Edmund Mansion.

Sounding like we're taking 'clues' from Clue, we're reminded that everyone's a suspect, but the butler probably didn't do it. Thimbleweed Park 2's Steam page adds: "Not really a sequel. Not really a prequel. It’s more Thimbleweed Park and just as weird."

Expect more of that classic LucasArts style with five playable characters and a zany supporting cast, giving us a much-needed return to the series after the Delores mini-game came out in 2020.

Many of us had given up hope of seeing a full-blown Thimbleweed Park 2, but Gilbert is once again teaching us that patience is a virtue.

Coogler's The X-Files reboot is yet to secure a release date, but assuming it comes out before Thimbleweed Park 2, Terrible Toybox could ride high on the hype of renewed interest.