Aside from being free, we don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t want to get into this one. The unique visuals and a very fun vibe underline the absurd premise of spirits having the ability to craft and inhabit clay pots. These will then partake in 4v4 battles where you try to douse your opponent’s kiln with water. You do that with basic attacks but also have access to special moves depending on your pot’s shape.

Preorders are now live, and you get a generous amount of goodies, which includes Stickers, Glazes, and Sword and Ink Lids, all of which are cool ways to make the pots you craft truly your own. Of course, there’s an in-game store with a lot more options, and Double Fine Productions has promised microstransactions locking you out of getting them.

All in all, it looks like this one’s going to be quite the entertainer if you’re in the market for something different. The trailer’s below if you want to take a look.

Kiln launches on April 23rd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

In case you missed its announcement during this year’s Xbox Developer_Direct, Kiln is a team-based multiplayer brawler where players use a detailed sculpting system to create pots. These pots then engage in 4v4 objective-based battles, carrying water to extinguish the enemy team’s kiln in the only available mode, Quench.

As silly (and yet, on-brand) as it sounds, pot creation is about more than just aesthetics. Depending on its shape, you can take advantage of different abilities, like crawling under low arches with a smaller pot. Things can get pretty messy, which contributes to the game’s “destruction” selling point. Of course, there’s also a hub called The Wedge where players can further customize their pots.

While multiplayer titles tend to miss more than hit (see FBC: Firebreak and the recent Highguard), Kiln isn’t just a one-off project. It will receive more content post-launch, though Double Fine has yet to detail exactly what players should expect. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

A new report by The Verge’s Tom Warren alleged release dates for several big titles, including Halo: Campaign Evolved targeting this Summer. Gears of War: E-Day, another 2026 release, is reportedly looking at the second half of the year. As already announced, Fable will arrive this Fall, but you can expect it sometime before November 19th, which is when Rockstar’s magnum opus finally launches.

As for Kiln, Double Fine’s pottery-meets-competitive-multiplayer title, it’s apparently launching in April – just one month before Forza Horizon 6. Based on the lack of rumors about Clockwork Revolution, State of Decay 3 and so on, it seems likely that they’ll launch next year.

In the meantime, Microsoft doesn’t just have to work out the releases for its biggest games, but also their marketing. It would lend credence to rumors of another Developer_Direct to go along with its usual Summer showcase and Gamescom presence. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it drop extensive overviews and other announcements out of the blue (like the rumored PS5 release of Starfield).

Here’s hoping that a potential price increase for the Xbox Series X/S isn’t one of them.

Meant to marry the cathartic acts of creation and destruction, you can start as a spirit who can manipulate clay to fashion a new body. You can then venture into Quench, a 4v4 mode about carrying water into enemy territory to douse their kiln. Of course, enemy players don’t like that, so you need to smash them.

Each pot has rudimentary moves such as running, jumping, attacking, and rolling, but different shapes have unique special moves. Their shapes also come in handy when traversing unique parts of the maps, based on fractured pieces of history. Some pots may have access to secret tunnels, and you can also pour water to erect sponge walls.

After every match, you return to the lobby, called the Wedge, to unlock new options with XP and Chips. Kiln is launching this Spring for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5, with a closed beta coming soon. Double Fine will also support it post-launch with additional content.

Double Fine Productions has uploaded an entirely new episode of the documentary out of nowhere on its official YouTube channel. At over 90 minutes long, the feature-length episode is described as an epilogue for the series. You can view it below. 

Meanwhile, in addition to the new episode, Double Fine has also announced that it is collaborating with Limited Run Games to release a physical Blu-ray set of Double Fine PsychOdyssey. The Blu-ray set will include all episodes of the series (including the new epilogue), an 80-page booklet that will follow the documentary’s series from the perspective of its makers at 2 Player Productions, and two bonus discs with a collection of extended interviews, backer updates, deleted scenes, promotional videos, and never-before-seen content. 

Additionally, you can also expect deleted scenes, all-new interviews with members of the Psychonauts 2 development team, previously unseen internal footage of Psychonauts 2 gameplay from various stages of development, and more. 

The catch, however, is that the Blu-ray set is going to be a limited edition set. Limited Run Games will be selling just 2,000 copies of the set. A release date has yet to be announced, but you can pre-order it now, until August 25.

Taking to Twitter, Double Fine recently teased “cool things in store” that it says it will “share when we’re ready”. Along with those nebulous “cool things”, the studio is also making plans for its upcoming 25th anniversary – which is coming up in July – which means there is, in Double Fine’s words, “tons of fun on the way.” The official Xbox account responded to the studio’s tweet with the good old googly eyes emoji.

What exactly the developer has been cooking up in the time since Psychonauts 2’s release is anyone’s guess, though Double Fine boss Tim Schafer previously confirmed that the studio wasn’t working on another Psychonauts sequel, and was instead turning its attention to smaller projects.

Recent leaks have claimed that Double Fine Productions’ next game will be revealed (and possibly shadow dropped) at an alleged upcoming Xbox Developer Direct, so there’s a chance we get a clearer picture of what the future has in store for the studio not long from now. Stay tuned for any and all updates in the coming weeks.

https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1742655867596472554

That’s as per Spanish YouTuber eXtas1s, who has claimed that Microsoft is planning another Developer Direct presentation. Allegedly, the company will show off games like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and Towerborne at the event, while it’s claimed that Psychonauts developer Double Fine Productions’ next game will also be announced.

The leaker goes on to claim that a game will also be shadow dropped at the event, similar to how Hi-Fi Rush was last year. There may, however, be slight differences, so the game in question might release within a few weeks of its reveal at the event rather than on the same day. As per eXtas1s, the game in question will be Double Fine’s aforementioned project, which the leaker speculates could be KILN, which Microsoft filed a trademark for last year.

If the company does indeed plan on holding the event in January (as it did last year), it shouldn’t be too long before it makes an official announcement. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming days.

https://twitter.com/extas1stv/status/1742348810838249651

After all, a recent Microsoft tease seemed to be suggesting something along those lines (or so many people though). However, according to Double Fine Productions boss Tim Schafer, a Psychonauts 3 is not in development. Speaking in a recent interview with YouTube channel Cressup, referring to the aforementioned tease, Schafer said that he hadn’t actually seen it, and said that a Psychonauts sequel isn’t currently in the works.

“I didn’t see that,” he said (spotted by PCGamesN). “I’m not working on Psychonauts 3.”

So what is Double Fine working on then? Responding to a question about whether Double Fine will stick with developing larger and more complex projects or return to smaller games, Schafer said that’s not something the studio puts as much consideration on as it does on whether or not a project would align with its company values. Currently, Schafer says, Double Fine is working on “smaller” games, which he says are “new” and, of course “unannounced”.

“We’ve had big games that were admittedly very complex and hard to make, but didn’t have any of the acrimony,” Schafer said. “Psychonauts 1 had a real tough development, but everyone liked each other the whole time. It’s not about big games vs small games, it’s about our company’s values, and whether we are sticking to them. It causes [us] to look at what our values are, and actually write them down and share them with the team. So yeah, we’ll make big games again. We’re not right now, right now we’re making, you know, smaller games. Secret stuff.”

“We’re doing new, unannounced stuff,” he added.

Last year, Double Fine Productions confirmed that it had multiple new projects in the works across a number of different internal teams.

The entire series was released simultaneously today, and goes quite in-depth into the story of the development of Psychonauts 2, including the pressure faced by the developers to create a sequel for a cult-classic action platformer.

Topics tackled in the documentary series include developers having to deal with poor morale, overly-ambitious designs, technical challenges, and financial troubles.

The documentary acts as a follow-up to the Double Fine Adventure series, which gave us an unprecedented look at the development of one of Kickstarter’s earlier success stories, Broken Age.

Originally launched digitally, Psychonauts 2 got a physical release in October on consoles. The game is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game went on to reportedly become Double Fine’s best-selling title of all time. For more details, check out our review.

Alongside the game itself, Psychonauts 2: The Motherlobe Edition comes with a reversible cover sheet for its box, along with a set of six two-sided art cards that show off concept art as well as final art that eventually made it into the game. It also includes six die-cut stickers, and a digital download code for unreleased behind-the-scenes material.

The physical launch for Psychonauts 2 was announced earlier this year.

Since its release back in August 2021, Psychonauts 2 has seen widespread success, both critical and commercial. Our own review of the game, which you can check out here, gave it a score of 9 out of 10. The game was also successful enough to become the best-selling game by Double Fine to date, according to art director Lisette Titre-Montgomery.