One game surprised me the most in the Xbox Developer Direct and it's a wacky brawler that's releasing this year

Date:
Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:12:59 +0000

Description:
Xbox Game Studios has revealed Kiln, a pottery brawler from the team behind Keeper and Psychonauts 2.

FULL STORY

Kiln was one of the biggest surprises of the most recent Xbox Developer
Direct showcase.

This wacky brawler hails from the team at Double Fine, the creators of iconic titles like Psychonauts and more recently Keeper , and has players sculpting their own sentient pots before going head to head as them in online battles.

The size and shape of your design determine its combat abilities, which is definitely an interesting mechanic. The brief announcement trailer shows of a range of walking pottery being smashed in a gloriously satisfying manner.

It's set to release later this year for Xbox Series X and Series S,
PlayStation 5 , and PC. You can sign up for a beta testing program for the chance to try the game early via the official website .

Double Fine die-hards might recognize Kiln as one of the titles featured in
the studio's Amnesia Fortnight 2017 - an annual game jam that has its teams creating novel ideas for two weeks that are sometimes shown off to the
public.

" Kiln is a multiplayer, team-based brawler by Derek Brand with a focus on creating unique player sculpted characters featuring crazy physics-based animation and destruction," reads the original pitch from 2017.

"Created during the match, extremely diverse character shapes and sizes are possible each exhibiting unique attributes and controls that leverage the possibilities in procedural animation."

It's interesting to see an old idea like this brought to life and I'm sure we'll be learning more about Kiln in the weeks and months ahead.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/one-game-surprised-me-the-most-in-the-xbox-de veloper-direct-and-its-a-wacky-brawler-thats-releasing-this-year

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