Kiln, revealed during Xbox’s recent developer direct stream, is an upcoming game from Psychonauts developer Double Fine, and like everything out of that studio, it’s whimsical, colorful, and full of personality. Unlike Double Fine’s last few games, this one is multiplayer-focused; players sculpt pottery, glaze it, fire it, and send their creations into battle in a violent, clay-shattering showdown. It’s an interesting concept, and we’ll get to see more of it very soon – today, the developer announced the game launches on April 23, with an open beta coming to Steam earlier in that same month.
The open beta will run from Thursday, April 9 to Saturday, April 11. As with most open betas, it will be free to download, and players will receive an in-game participation trophy for booting it up during the testing period. In order to join, however, you’ll have to sign up. At the time of writing, the sign-up isn’t live yet, but it will eventually appear as a button on the game’s Steam page.
According to a recent Xbox Wire post, Kiln community manager Rocia Salas had the following to say about Double Fine’s goals for the beta period:
We’re taking this open beta as an opportunity to not only test out our servers, but to see what resonates with players and what the Kiln team should be prioritizing next. We have a lot of possibilities with a game like Kiln—more customization, more maps, more modes—and, as much as we want to add everything we can to the game, we want to see what you, the players want the most.
Kiln will cost $19.99 in the US, with a deluxe “Fired Up” edition, which includes cosmetics and in-game currency, going for $29.99. You can see everything the Fired Up edition includes in the image below.
Kiln launches on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on April 23. For more Double Fine, check out our review of the studio’s last game, Keeper.
