Microsoft has announced a surprise ID@Xbox showcase later today.
The official ID@Xbox account shared this message on Twitter:
“Oh, how we’ve missed this 💚
Join us tomorrow for the all-new ID@Xbox Showcase, with new trailers, interviews, and all the indie game love we can fit into an hour!
Wednesday, April 5th 10a PT on http://Twitch.tv/Xbox”
A quick check on the official ID@Xbox YouTube channel indicates that they have not scheduled a YouTube stream for this event to run alongside the Twitch stream. There aren’t going to be any big Starfield announcements on this stream.
This is likely more because this will be a more intimate stream than some exclusivity or security situation. Actually, this may be a real livestream and not a recording as well. In any case, you may want to check if they cross post the stream on YouTube later.
Microsoft’s ID@Xbox is their current program to partner with smaller game developers and studios. This program allows any studio or developer, even if it’s just one person, to self-publish their game or games to the Xbox store.
While the ID@Xbox label is commonly used for games of a certain scale or budget, there are some bigger games that were part of the program and became successes in their own right.
Most gamers wouldn’t think of Among Us, Dead by Daylight, or Sniper Elite 5 as indies, but they joined the likes of Stardew Valley, Gang Beasts, and No Man’s Sky as part of this program.
The ID@Xbox team is managed by Chris Charla, a former video game journalist known for his work at Next Generation Magazine and IGN. He had demonstrated an understanding of the changing nature of the industry in his now decade long tenure as head of Xbox relations with smaller developers.
It isn’t just a matter of Microsoft successfully making their platform popular for smaller developers. Josh Sawyer at Obsidian had revealed a few months ago that the very existence of Game Pass is part of the reason he pitched and successfully produced the unexpected medieval themed narrative adventure game Pentiment. Remember, this isn’t an indie game, it’s a smaller game made within a bigger studio, smaller than even Hi-Fi Rush.
In other words, Microsoft has succeeded to make connections with developers via their programs that make Xbox a place where they have opportunities. Many successful smaller games were introduced via ID@Xbox.
Of course, we don’t know what games Microsoft has slated to announce later today. But make no mistake about it, some of those games could very well be our future favorite indie and small games for this console generation.
