Microsoft released the first [email protected] Game Pass episode today, the first part of a new series highlighting the exciting indie games coming soon. These games will be available on Xbox One and PC, but more specifically will be made instantly available on the Xbox Game Pass as soon as they release. The games shown off include multiplayer title Killer Queen Black and the latest games from the creators of Deadly Premonition, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Oxenfree.
Unlike what many people expected, the [email protected] Game Pass episode was not a stream like PlayStation’s State of Play yesterday, but a full video, which you can see below. The first title is action-strategy platformer Killer Queen Black, which was initially revealed last year as a Nintendo Switch release, but is also now coming to Xbox One and PC. The next was Outer Wilds, the next game from the creators of What Remains of Edith Finch, which is a space exploration game that’ll also be available on launch day on Game Pass.
Afterparty is the new game from the creators of Oxenfree, and similarly is a comic-book-style 2D platform-adventure with choice and consequence, and sees two friends trying to escape from Hell. It certainly looks a little bit less serious than the disturbing ghost story of Oxenfree. Deadly Premonition and D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die creator Swery’s latest game The Good Life was also shown off, which is the first time we’ve seen the game in a while.
Other games shown in the video included Void Bastards, a fun-looking cel-shaded FPS inspired a little by System Shock, and is actually being worked on by Jonathan Chey, co-founder of Irrational Games (System Shock 2 and Bioshock). Operencia: The Stolen Sun is a first-person dungeon crawler due out next year. Supermarket Shriek is described as a shopping kart-racer, and that’s as apt a description as any. Last up was Blazing Chrome, an arcade-style run-and-gun shoot-em-up in the style of Contra.
Most of these indie games will be shown off more at PAX, with several of them playable, and all will be available immediately on Xbox Game Pass the moment they release.