While big-name AAA titles often dominate the spotlight in the gaming industry, some of the best games around are indies — smaller-scale titles from independent studios made with tighter, less grandiose ambitions. These are considered by many to be the lifeblood of the business, as their limited scope and lack of oversight from publishers looking to maximize profit allow developers to explore creative ideas with less risk.
Microsoft and Xbox have long supported the indie game scene with ID@Xbox, a program that helps independent studios get access to Xbox development kits and elevates the visibility of their projects with marketing assistance.
One way it's done so in the past is by hosting a special Indie Selects Demo Fest, and now it's holding another one for the duration of June. Microsoft announced the news on Thursday in a new Xbox Wire blog post, revealing that there's now a huge collection of indie game demos you can try out from now until the end of the month.
There are demos available across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Xbox on PC, so you can check them out no matter which Xbox platform you're on. Something important to note is that these demos are work-in-progress looks at upcoming titles, so there's not a complete and polished version of them you can go buy if you have fun with these playtests. Definitely make sure to watch for a release date from the demos of the games you like, though!
Microsoft says there are "more than 30 standout game demos ready to play," which is honestly underselling the spread; there's a whopping 41 available while the Indie Selects Demo Fest is live, all of which I've listed below (with links to their store pages):
- Active Matter (Matter Team/Gaijin)
- Akatori (Contrast Games/Games Harbor)
- Alpha Nomos (RibCage Games)
- AWAKEN – Astral Blade (Dark Pigeon Games/ESDigital Games)
- Bao Bao’s Cozy Cleaning Services (Destroyer Doggo)
- Canvas of Thoughts (Bandaloop Games)
- Carry the Glass (Slugshot Games/Naisu)
- Charlatan (Gumgo/HypeTrain Digital)
- Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit (Spry Fox/The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild)
- Desolus (Mark Mayers/The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild)
- Die in the Dungeon (Atico)
- Dodo Duckie (BornMonkie)
- Faeland (Talegames)
- Farlands (JansuSoft)
- Fire and Ashes (Axyos Games)
- Grim Trials (Glory Jam/Soft Source)
- Hazard Levels (Wales Interactive)
- Island of Winds (Parity Games/ESDigital Games)
- Kooeh: A Timeless Delight (Twilight Foundry Games)
- K-Pop Idol Stories: Road to Debut (Wisageni Studio/PQube)
- Let’s Build a Dungeon (Springloaded)
- Lou’s Lagoon (Tiny Roar/Megabit Publishing)
- Moonbrella (Jett Williams)
- Mori Carta (Nevergreen Games/Secret Item Games)
- Nightmare Circus (FairPlay Studios/Red Dunes Games)
- Nimrods (Fiveamp)
- Nomori (Enchanted Works)
- Order Automatica (New Beings/Better.Publishing)
- Pieced Together (Glowfrog Games)
- Pit of Goblin (Friendly Foe/Bright Gambit)
- Pollito and Xiang Xiang: Adventure in the Forest (R-Next)
- Reggie, His Cousin, Two Scientists and Most Likely the End of the World (Degoma)
- Salvation: Echoes of War (Infinite Entropy)
- Souls of Bombarika (Street Lamp Games/1312 Interactive)
- Space Tail: Definitive Edition (Enjoy Studio/Bohemia Interactive)
- Starlit World (Rockhead Studios)
- Surfpunk (Double Stallion Games)
- The Crimson Maid (GrimTalin/Wales Interactive)
- The Slormancer (Slormite Studios/Plug In Digital)
- Treetopians (Aparato)
- Wrap House Simulator (Console Labs/Broken Lyre Entertainment/PlayWay)
All in all, there's a ton of stuff here to dip your toes in and try out, so I recommend you do so while it's available. Just don't forget that the demos go offline when June ends — if I were you, I'd start playing them ASAP.
Will you check out the Xbox indie demos available during the Indie Selects Demo Fest? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.
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