ID@Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo event kicks off next week

See some “show floor” demos from the comfort of home

The indie gaming side of Xbox is hosting another demo event this year, the [email protected] Summer Game Fest Demo event. Starting on June 21, the [email protected] team says it will have over 30 demos of upcoming games playable on Xbox.

These demos will be up from June 21 through the 27th, so be sure to check them out while the window’s open. And [email protected] notes that these demos are not the average demos you’d usually see on stores. While those usually come from fairly completed games, the ones in [email protected] are more akin to “show floor demos” you might catch at PAX or something. Basically, these are early-stage projects, so be constructive if things seem a little rough.

The full list of demos is arriving closer to June 21, but [email protected] showed four of them today. These include:

• Batora: Lost Haven: An isometric action game where you journey through colorful planets and fight to save Earth using your physical and mental superpowers.
• Broken Pieces: A time-based thriller that seems ideal for Control fans, where you have to solve the mystery of this bizarre French village.
• Severed Steel: One for the blood-pumping FPS fans, its got bullet-time and destructible environments.
• Tinykin: A Pikmin-style game that we’ve had our eye on for a while, with an incredible look and tons of little helpers.

Dozens of demos galore

It’s already been a pretty good summer for demos. The Steam Next Fest is on right now, and there are a ton of upcoming projects to discover and add to your wishlist there.

Last year’s [email protected] demo event had some pretty great hands-on previews in the lineup too. Games like Tunic, Lake, Sable, and more were all part of the 2021 demo fest. It’ll be exciting to see what pops up in this year’s event.