“Folks are available and provides us suggestions as the sport’s in growth, actually shining a light-weight on areas we have to enhance – issues actual gamers are seeing that, as builders, we may be too shut to note,” Scott says.
Xbox Recreation Studios helps construct bridges
Although Double Fantastic repeatedly engaged with the gaming business via native meetups and worldwide occasions such because the Recreation Builders Convention, they not often labored with different indie studios or tapped these studios’ sources.
Microsoft offered monetary stability, however it additionally helped Double Fantastic construct connections to different studios.
“There are at all times studios like us who have been form of like islands within the sea earlier than. However now we’ve got these bridges between us so we will discuss and share tales,” Schafer says.
UK-based Uncommon, the makers of Sea of Thieves, is lending a hand on Kiln by sharing their expertise of constructing a group, creating beta applications and fostering post-launch participant engagement. Double Fantastic has additionally linked with Obsidian on the sport and shared notes.
“They will go be taught from different groups that may have experience and finest practices, all the best way to hands-on assist,” says Mary McGuane, a studio common supervisor at Xbox Recreation Studios who oversees 5 completely different recreation studios, together with Double Fantastic. “There’s a complete collective of studios which are rooting for his or her success and contributing to it.”
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy to the studios, she provides, however the via line is evident: Don’t lose what makes the corporate and tradition distinctive.
For Double Fantastic, says lead designer Scott, that’s the studio’s deal with the experimental and bizarre, pushing the boundaries of the medium, each technically and artistically, and fixing onerous issues.
“I’m working someplace the place the primary objective is to contribute to the sport medium in a significant and fascinating method.”
This story was printed on April 23, 2026. All photographs and screenshots courtesy of Double Fantastic Productions.
Kiln, Double Fantastic’s upcoming multiplayer on-line pottery celebration brawler, launches on April 23 – together with Xbox Collection X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, PlayStation 5, Steam, and with Xbox Recreation Cross Final. Will probably be an Xbox Play Anyplace title, and arrive Handheld Optimized.
Store choose Home windows 11 PCs and unlock the Final School Bundle from Microsoft—giving eligible college students the whole lot they want for a full yr of productiveness, creativity and play, multi functional buy.
Supply ends June 30, 2026. Eligibility necessities apply, and college students might want to confirm their tutorial standing utilizing their faculty .edu electronic mail handle. Redemption requires a Microsoft account and following the offered steps after buy of a qualifying PC.
Learn extra about Double Fantastic and Kiln
For greater than a decade, Athima Chansanchai has coated folks, initiatives and merchandise all through Microsoft. Now, she focuses on gaming for non-gamers and Home windows Blogs. Beforehand, Athima wrote information and have tales for MSNBC.com, The Seattle Submit-Intelligencer, The Baltimore Solar and The Village Voice. You possibly can contact Athima on LinkedIn.
