Microsoft's first-party video game development studio, Double Fine Productions, has once again seen the release of a new game that wasn't very well received as a multiplayer title. kiln It's having a noticeable difficulty getting significant player numbers on Steam. kiln It was released simultaneously for PC via Steam and had a day one launch on Xbox Game Pass on April 23rd. It's still too early to draw any major conclusions, but the early data may not bode well for the game. kiln On Steam.
Audiences may be familiar with the name Double Fine thanks to games such as: psychologist and cruel legend This helped the studio expand its initial portfolio and win prestigious awards. Double Fine was acquired by Microsoft in 2019 and merged with its Xbox Game Studios division, where development work took place. Psychonaut 2Released in 2021. The studio was somewhat quiet for the next few years, but the release of a surrealist single-player exploration game caught the attention of longtime fans. concierge It has been announced. The title was officially released in 2025, and now Double Fine's new project is quickly following suit, but the team's latest release already seems to be following an unfortunate pattern.
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Kiln follows an unfortunate pattern of low player counts leading to double fines.
Online multiplayer party fighting game from Double Fine kiln It struggled to gain popularity on Steam, peaking at just 193 players in the first 24 hours, according to data from SteamDB. This is the second recent release from Xbox's first-party studio and it falls short of expectations. double fine concierge It also didn't perform well on Steam, but the title received positive reviews despite its low player count. both kiln and concierge Because it launched on the first day of Xbox Game Pass' launch, some have speculated that the additional marketing focus on Xbox simply didn't generate enough interest among PC gamers. The inclusion of both titles in Xbox's PC Game Pass may also have played a role. It's possible that PC fans may choose to utilize its service directly through Steam, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.
Who is that character?
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
start
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
Easy (7.5 seconds) Medium (5.0 seconds) Hard (2.5 seconds) Eternal Death (2.5 seconds)
There's certainly no shortage of online multiplayer party games on Xbox Game Pass or Steam, so it's not a stretch to believe there could be some serious competition within the genre. kiln. Current Steam Reviews for kiln At the time of this writing, it has a “Mostly Positive” rating, with many negative reviews expressing concerns about the level locking mechanic and lack of various game modes. The positive comments highlighted the possibility of a future update that could fix these issues, but there's no official word yet on what the long-term plans are. kiln.
Not every game can be a huge success, and between the overwhelming number of indie releases and AAA projects in the industry, there's plenty of room for balancing single-A and AA games. That said, Double Fine has now twice seen its releases struggle to crack a few hundred players on Steam, and many worry that if those numbers stay low, Microsoft's continued string of game cancellations, studio closures, and layoffs could change its studio's direction. It's worth mentioning player data. kiln Since it is not available on Xbox Game Pass, there is a chance that the game will receive greater attention among console users. Only time will tell kiln Either it will get greater support on Steam, or it will suffer a similar fate to its Double Fine predecessor.
- released
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April 23, 2026
- ESRB
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Anyone 10+ / Fantasy violence, crude humor, language, user interaction
- publisher
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Xbox Game Studios
- multiplayer
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online multiplayer
