Microsoft is finally amping up their efforts to bring more indie titles to the Xbox One. The system struggled to attract a larger indie following due to some issues with the way developers perceived the release parity clause that made the Xbox One look less inviting than the PS4 and Wii U. Well, on Tuesday Microsoft announced that they have more than 30 games coming down the pipeline for the Xbox One via their ID@Xbox program, which is headed up by Chris Charla.
Over on the Xbox News Wire the news made clear that there are a ton of new games inbound for the Xbox One.
Microsoft had trouble acquiring a lot of support from the indie and mid-budget scene throughout 2013 and 2014, and they had the unfortunate pleasure of being outdone by Sony multiple times over when it came to game selection and non-AAA releases.
After Phil Spencer took control of the Xbox brand and Chris Charla started working hard to overhaul and improve support and release policies for the Xbox One, some indies started coming back to the fold.
As mentioned by the news staff on the Xbox site...
“This week at GDC you’ll get to see and hear from more than 30 developers who are bringing their games to Xbox One via ID@Xbox, including new announcements and many games coming first to Xbox One. We’re incredibly proud to be working with these visionaries and creators, who are making unique and innovative titles.”
There's a fairly massive list of games on the horizon, in development or recently released on the system. From some well known games to some lesser known titles. You can check out the full list below.
- Bedlam (RedBedlam)
- Beyond Eyes (Team17)
- ClusterPuck 99 (PHL Collective)
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
- Earthlock: Festival of Magic (Snowcastle Games)
- The Flame in the Flood (The Molasses Flood)
- Fortified (Clapfoot Games)
- Game 4 (The Behemoth)
- Goat Simulator (Double Eleven)
- LA Cops (Team 17)
- Magic Duels: Origins (Wizards of the Coast)
- Mighty No. 9 (Comcept)
- Pixel Galaxy (Serenity Forge)
- R.B.I. Baseball 15 (MLB.com)
- Rivals of Aether (Dan Fornace)
- Shadow Blade: Reload (Dead Mage)
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games)
- SMITE (Hi-Rez Studios)
- Submerged (Uppercut Games)
- Super Dungeon Bros (React! Games)
- SWORDY (Frogshark)
- The Sun and Moon (Digerati Distribution and Marketing)
- ZHEROS (Rimlight Studios)
- Wasteland 2 (inXile Entertainment)
- Blues And Bullets (A Crowd of Monsters)
- Quest of Dungeons (David Jose Lourenco Amador)
- Commander Cherry’s Puzzled Journey (Grande Games)
- Hyperdrive Massacre (34 Big Things)
- Red Out (34 Big Things)
- Starpoint Gemini 2 (Little Green Men)
- The Little Acre (Pewter Game Studios)
- Space Dust Racers (Space Dust Studios)
- The Adventures of Pip (Tick Toc Games)
- Paranautical Activity (Digerati Distribution)
- Slain (Digerati Distribution)
- Gear Gauntlet (Drop Dead Interactive)
- Draw a Stickman: Epic (Hitcents)
- Reagan Gorbachev (Team2Bit)
- Twin Souls: The Path of Shadows (Lince Works)
- Raging Justice (Makin Games)
- Grabbles (Noble Whale)
- Run (Torch Games)
- World of Diving (Vertigo Games)
- Luna's Tale: The Curse of the Forgotten Doll (Maestro Game Studio)
- Unruly Attractions’ Standpoint (Maestro Game Studio)
Oh wow, that's a lot of games.
Some of these I've never heard of, which is a good thing. It means that Microsoft is digging into the pile and bringing out some potential hidden gems and sleeper hits. They desperately need this because Sony has been unleashing one indie gem after another on the PS4, even if many of them are PC ports.
Appealing to non-PC gamers with PC titles they may have skipped over is a good way to broaden the appeal of the console. During the PS2 era Sony had dozens and dozens and dozens of mid-tier games to flesh out the library beyond the hard-hitters and first-party blockbusters. Microsoft really needs to adopt that mentality for the Xbox One if they want to maintain attention, especially now that Valve has taken off the gauntlets and let loose a barrage of incoming nuclear options like a free Source 2 and the budget-priced Steam Link.
You can check out more details on each of the games listed here by paying a visit to the official Xbox website.
