The ID@XBOX Indie Selects Demo Fest has arrived! I'm genuinely pumped because this is a fantastic celebration of some of my absolute favourite games on Xbox right now — they're running it from June 4th through the 15th, so if you want to dive into anything here before committing fully there's no reason not. What really makes me love about Demo Fest though (and honestly what sets it apart) is that these aren't just arbitrary indie picks: every single game came straight out of ID@XBOX's annual Indie Selects showcase back in 2018 — the whole idea was to spotlight games from independent studios on a major platform. The magic really kicked into overdrive after E3 though, when they had player voting determine which titles made it through alongside what their own team thought looked amazing; so between our actual gaming community and ID@XBOX insiders both getting input you end up with something genuinely curated rather than just slapped together from whoever submitted first.
Now to the games themselves — I'll be honest: this lineup is stacked beyond belief because they've got everything from critically acclaimed hits like Celeste Beyond, Animal Well, Hollow Knight (you know exactly what that means), and Playdead's Insides right alongside Fire Emblem as well as some surprising entries such as Metal Gear Solid 7 which honestly still feels kind of bonkers to see in this particular company. We also have indie darlings including Undertale making their mark here while simultaneously being joined by newer titles like Astroneer, a really fun little platform runner with gorgeous hand-drawn visuals that has genuinely been one of my personal favourite discoveries over recent years, not to mention the ever-reliable Super Meat Boy and even some unexpected newcomers I had never noticed before. If you own Game Pass there's basically no excuse for sitting on all these incredible experiences right now — just jump into whatever sounds cool at any moment because nothing in this showcase feels forced or out of place despite spanning so many different genres across everything from pixel-art RPGs through cozy farming sims to those more challenging action titles that really nail their respective formulas while simultaneously doing something slightly unexpected.
Source: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/06/04/id-xbox-indie-selects-demo-fest-xbox-june-2026/
Now to the games themselves — I'll be honest: this lineup is stacked beyond belief because they've got everything from critically acclaimed hits like Celeste Beyond, Animal Well, Hollow Knight (you know exactly what that means), and Playdead's Insides right alongside Fire Emblem as well as some surprising entries such as Metal Gear Solid 7 which honestly still feels kind of bonkers to see in this particular company. We also have indie darlings including Undertale making their mark here while simultaneously being joined by newer titles like Astroneer, a really fun little platform runner with gorgeous hand-drawn visuals that has genuinely been one of my personal favourite discoveries over recent years, not to mention the ever-reliable Super Meat Boy and even some unexpected newcomers I had never noticed before. If you own Game Pass there's basically no excuse for sitting on all these incredible experiences right now — just jump into whatever sounds cool at any moment because nothing in this showcase feels forced or out of place despite spanning so many different genres across everything from pixel-art RPGs through cozy farming sims to those more challenging action titles that really nail their respective formulas while simultaneously doing something slightly unexpected.
Source: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/06/04/id-xbox-indie-selects-demo-fest-xbox-june-2026/