Mini Quench Local Co-Op, Photobooth, and 2 Online Modes: Double Fine Launches Kiln: Reshaped on November 12 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series
The pottery wheel at Double Fine Productions is spinning back up for a major autumn overhaul. Two months after reclaiming publishing independence on its ceramic party brawler and dropping the game's permanent price tag to $7.99, Tim Schafer's studio has officially unveiled Kiln: Reshaped. Launching this Thursday, November 12, 2026, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, the free expansion delivers long-awaited couch co-op alongside two new online multiplayer modes and an in-game photo studio.
Mini Quench Local Co-Op and Two New Online Modes Lead the November 12 Overhaul
Originally released on April 23, 2026, under the creative direction of Project Lead Derek Brand after originating during the studio's 2017 Amnesia Fortnight prototyping jam, Kiln combines hands-on pottery sculpting with team-based arena combat. Players inhabit elemental spirits who throw and shape their own clay armor on a pottery wheel inside the social hub before firing it in the oven. Every vessel's height, width, and silhouette directly govern its combat abilities, durability, and how much water it can carry to douse the opposing team's giant kiln.
While the base experience focused on 4v4 online matchmaking and eight-player custom lobbies, the community has consistently asked for shared-screen play since launch. In an official announcement on the Double Fine Productions website, the development team detailed the core additions arriving in Kiln: Reshaped:
- Mini Quench Local Co-Op Multiplayer: A brand-new couch co-op mode allowing friends and family to team up locally without relying solely on online matchmaking queues.
- Two New Online Multiplayer Modes: Two fresh competitive playlists expanding the online rotation beyond the core Quench objective mode.
- The Wedge Photobooth: A heavily requested roadmap feature added directly inside The Wedge hub, enabling parties to gather, strike custom poses with their handcrafted ceramic pots, and snap group screenshots.
- New Decorations and Refreshed Branding: Additional cosmetic attachments and ornaments for the pottery wheel, accompanied by a brand-new logo and key art illustrated by artist Bagel.
Building on Double Fine's $7.99 Indie Shift and the Bisque Update
Dropping a major content update right in the middle of November shows the resilience of indie studios refusing to abandon the November calendar ahead of GTA 6. The momentum behind Kiln: Reshaped builds directly on the structural pivot Double Fine executed at the end of the summer.
Following its April debut across console and PC ecosystems, at a time when Microsoft was actively expanding its subscription catalog through deals like 11 bit studios' multi-game Xbox Game Pass agreement, Double Fine transitioned Kiln into a self-published indie model on September 2 with version 2.0, known as The Bisque Update. To safeguard the game's long-term preservation, the studio migrated matchmaking to player-hosted servers and permanently lowered the retail price to $7.99 USD for the Standard Edition (and $9.99 USD for the Fired Up Edition) on the official Kiln Steam store page and console storefronts.
That September milestone also introduced the Daily Throw sculpting challenge, a Pot Journal tracking archetype statistics, Weekly Quests, an expanded 80-slot scrollable pot collection, a level 60 progression cap, and two mythology-themed arenas: Poseidon's Bubble Bath and Ra's Rise and Shine Nursery.
Community "Day of Clay" Matchmaking Event Kicks Off Thursday at 10:30 AM PT
To populate the new playlists as soon as the patch goes live, Double Fine has designated Thursday, November 12 as a community-wide Day of Clay, a title coined by a member of the studio's official Discord server. Players are invited to jump into matchmaking starting at 10:30 AM PST (1:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM GMT), where members of the Double Fine development team will also be queuing up for live matches.
Full patch notes breaking down the rules of the two new online modes and all balance adjustments will be published by Double Fine alongside the update's deployment this Thursday.
My Perspective
Ever since Kiln launched in April, its tactile pottery wheel mechanics practically begged for a local couch mode. Molding a lopsided ceramic jug and immediately smashing it into rival creations is the exact kind of chaotic physical comedy that shines brightest when you are sitting next to your friends on the same sofa. Pairing Mini Quench local co-op with player-hosted servers and a permanent $7.99 price tag gives Double Fine's quirky brawler the exact foundation it needed to thrive for years to come.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
