Microsoft's excited to showcase their ID@Xbox indie games currently in development at Game Developers Conference 2015. Today the publisher released a list of over thirty games which will be playable in some form at the event, later expanding the list to over 40 titles simply planned to come out on Xbox One in the future. The best part is that many of the titles were previously uncomfirmed for the Xbox One -- many we never even knew existed.
Here's the the full list of titles playable in San Francisco which Microsoft provided, as well as their descriptions for each title. Apparently this is not the full list of ID@Xbox games available to play at GDC 2015, though why some might be missing is unclear. Oh, and I'll try to add a link on each title to trailers which Microsoft has also put together for the occasion. There are so many!
- Bedlam (RedBedlam): Based on the novel by award-winning British author Christopher Brookmyre, this is a shooter for everyone who remembers gaming in the ‘80s and ‘90s!
- Beyond Eyes (Team17): How does a blind person navigate the world? This unique title might give you some sense of what it’s like to live in a world without sight, as you control a young girl in search of her lost cat.
- ClusterPuck 99 (PHL Collective): This competitive sports game features eight-player local competitive action.
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR): A run-and-gun adventure, with plenty of 1930s style animation to keep things interesting! It will make its console debut on Xbox One!
- Earthlock: Festival of Magic (Snowcastle Games): An exciting, nonlinear role-playing game.
- The Flame in the Flood (The Molasses Flood): A rogue-lite river journey through the backwaters of a forgotten post-societal America. It will make its console debut on Xbox One.
- Fortified (Clapfoot Games): An exciting new take on action-strategy games that combines shooter, real-time strategy, and base defense mechanics.
- Game 4 (The Behemoth): One of the weirdest turn-based strategy games you’ll ever play, with plenty of The Behemoth’s unmistakable style.
- Goat Simulator (Double Eleven): You are a goat, and you are on a rampage. What more do you need to know? More goat to the people!
- LA Cops (Team 17): This top-down strategy shooter celebrates everything awesome about ‘70s cop fiction.
- Magic Duels Origins (Wizards of the Coast): The world’s most beloved collectible card game goes free-to-play! It will make its console debut first on Xbox one
- Mighty No. 9 (Comcept): This Kickstarter darling is the brainchild of acclaimed developer Keiji Inafune, the creator of Mega Man. True side-scrolling perfection!
- Pixel Galaxy (Serenity Forge): It’s one heck of a hectic shoot-’em-up, inspired by Katamari Damacy. Grow, make friends, and survive together!
- R.B.I. Baseball 15 (MLB.com): The legendary Major League Baseball franchise returns with fresh game modes, authentic ballparks, improved animations, and deep stat-tracking.
- Rivals of Aether (Dan Fornace): This fighting game challenges you to uncover the elemental mysteries of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.
- Shadow Blade: Reload (Dead Mage): Guide a young ninja on his journey to seek the teachings of the last remaining ninja master as he embarks on a quest for revenge.
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games): Steel thy shovel! The amazing retro sidescrolling adventure is coming to Xbox One!
- SMITE (Hi-Rez Studios): The next evolution in multiplayer online battle arena space. Assemble your team, choose your hero, and destroy your opponents. Stay tuned for details on the Xbox One beta, coming very soon!
- Submerged (Uppercut Games): You’re trapped in an ancient, half-submerged city, with next to nothing. Explore the flooded cityscape and scale its buildings in a fight to survive!
- Super Dungeon Bros (React! Games): A multiplayer dungeon-crawling extravaganza with a rock music theme. Get your bros together and get ready to rock out!
- SWORDY (Frogshark): In this multiplayer physics brawler, you will hit your friends until they explode. You really have to see this one to wrap your head around this craziness. We’re pleased to say Swordy will debut first on Xbox One.
- The Sun and Moon (Digerati Distribution and Marketing): It’s a platformer with a twist: You can dive into the ground, reversing your gravity while conserving your momentum. Winner of the Ludum Dare 29 competition!
- ZHEROS (Rimlight Studios): This 3D action brawler – set in an alternative future universe – is rife with engaging combat and outrageous characters.
Finally, here's another list of ID@Xbox titles which either Microsoft listed as not being at GDC 2015 or had trailers uploaded by Microsoft but were otherwise unlisted. I'm just assuming that Microsoft has so many ID@Xbox titles spilling out of their pockets that it's hard to keep track of them all. Kind of like that limes meme. Why can't I hold all these indies?
- The Adventures of Pip (Tick Toc Games)
- Anarcute (AnarTeam)
- Aritana and the Harpy's Feather (Duaik Entretenimento)
- Blues and Bullets (A Crowd of Monsters)
- Commander Cherry’s Puzzled Journey (Grande Games)
- Draw a Stickman: Epic (Hitcents)
- Gear Gauntlet (Drop Dead Interactive)
- Grabbles (Noble Whale)
- Hyperdrive Massacre (34 Big Things)
- Inside My Radio (Seaven Studio)
- Knight Squad (Chainsawesome Games)
- The Little Acre (Pewter Game Studios)
- Luna's Tale: The Curse of the Forgotten Doll (Maestro Game Studio)
- Paranautical Activity and Slain (Digerati Distribution)
- Quest of Dungeons (David Jose Lourenco Amador)
- Raging Justice (Makin Games)
- Reagan Gorbachev (Team2Bit)
- Red Out (34 Big Things)
- Run (Torch Games)
- Screencheat (Samurai Punk)
- Soul Axiom (Wales Interactive)
- Space Dust Racers (Space Dust Studios)
- Standpoint (Unruly Attractions)
- Starpoint Gemini 2 (Little Green Men)
- Tumblestone (The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild)
- Twin Souls: The Path of Shadows (Lince Works)
- Wasteland 2 (inXile Entertainment)
- World of Diving (Vertigo Games)
I don't doubt that there are GDC trailer for almost all of the above games, but I've only linked those that were uploaded on Xbox's official Youtube. If you see any others that would be appropriate to include here, share the link and poke me @bluexy in the comments. If I can share a little indie love with a trailer link then I'm all over that, but there's almost fifty of these things! Too much awesome.
In summary, Microsoft isn't letting Sony just run wild with all of the indies anymore. Xbox One has a ton of great titles coming down the pipeline and GDC 2015 proves it.
Image sourced from the Xbox Wire.
Shovel Knight is the only one I really recognize though.
I should buy it, it would look good alongside HarmoKnight.