[UPDATE - March 18, 2026] Double Fine has now revealed the launch date for Kiln: April 23, though an Open Beta will take place earlier in April. Find out all the info here.
[ORIGINAL STORY] Ahead of the Xbox Developer Direct 2026, though we knew we'd get a look at Fable, Forza Horizon 6, and Beast of Reincarnation, an unannounced secret game was also rumoured to be part of the event. Well, the rumours were correct, as that fourth game was revealed to be Double Fine's next project after Keeper. A "multiplayer pottery party-brawler" called Kiln, where you play as a pot looking to smash other pots.
Set to arrive on PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5 sometime in Spring 2026, Kiln is equal parts "creation and destruction" as it's about building and creating pots with your friends, but also about destroying them and each other for the fun of it in brawling game modes, like its introductory mode, Quench.
Kiln begins with you as a small, ghost-like figure that has the ability to mould a more secure, tough body out of clay. That means your time in Kiln begins, well, sitting at a kiln, as you spin and form whatever kind of body you can make for yourself out of clay.
"Making pots in real life is really difficult," says Derek Brand, the project lead on Kiln at Double Fine, in an Xbox Wire blog post. "It takes a lot of practice, and you can get good at it over time, but it is not an easy thing to just jump into. We wanted to make the pot-making super easy and accessible – it’s just a button and a control stick – and you can make any kind of shape you wanted. We wanted people to immediately feel like they’re masters at this craft."
The kind of pot body you create for yourself will determine what you're able to do when jumping into a brawl with other pots. Everyone gets a basic attack, but pots with different shapes and sizes have different abilities you can lean on to try and ensure you're the one pot left standing without a crack down your side. There are 24 total special attacks based on the shape and size of the pot you create, meaning there's plenty for you to play around with.
"A little plate which looks like a hockey puck can have a trick shot that will ricochet off multiple enemies. For cup-shaped pots, you have an area-of-effect attack that shoots out popcorn. Or if you make a big cylinder, that can turn into a huge hammer that can slam down and obliterate enemies," the Xbox Wire post explains.
You can also customize your pot far beyond just its shape, with different glazes, finishes, and designs to add, and a whole lobby area where you can practice for future fights, take out pots other players have made for a spin, and a store where you can buy more decorations and designs for your pots called The Wedge.
"When we’re thinking about the world, we wanted to really incorporate this element of [an] old, ancient technology and art form that has been around forever; we wanted to really lean on that," said Brand. "You start off in this world of Celadon; she’s this deity of creation and destruction. She embodies both of those things. And you’re this little spirit, this little bodiless floating sprite. But within this world, there are other gods that aren’t around, but they have these little floating islands of their old domains, and each map is based off ancient Greek or ancient Egyptian gods."
"We gave the old gods their own distinct personalities. For example, Hermes has a map set in his shipping facility, where packages are constantly being sent out and treadmills going back and forth shooting packages you’ll have to avoid. Then there’s Dionysus’ map, which is like a Boogie Lounge, which features a dance floor at its center — if you step onto one of the tiles, you’re forced to dance, creating a dynamic battleground where some players are fighting while others end up dancing."
Kiln will have a beta ahead of its launch if you're keen to try it out, with details on when that'll be coming from Double Fine soon. Like every other game included in today's Developer Direct, it'll also be available on Xbox Game Pass right at launch, and playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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