Double Fine, the game studio behind beloved oddities like Brütal Legend and Broken Age, is on an undeniable hot streak. After years of seeming adrift under Microsoft's ownership, the team has unleashed a string of inventive titles. Their latest is a multiplayer brawler centered on pottery—a follow-up to last year's game about a sentient lighthouse.
The studio, led by Tim Schafer, was acquired by Microsoft in 2019. For a while, its only major release was the long-awaited Psychonauts 2. But now, Double Fine is proving that its quirky creativity thrives in the corporate ecosystem. The new game, Kiln, pits players against each other in chaotic ceramic combat, blending Double Fine's signature humor with fast-paced action.
"We wanted to make something that felt completely unexpected," said Schafer in a recent interview. "Pottery brawling was just weird enough to work." The game has already garnered a cult following since its release on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam.
With Kiln and the lighthouse game under its belt, Double Fine is showing that even the weirdest ideas can find an audience—and that Microsoft's investment in offbeat creativity is paying off.