Xbox indie games on display
Before we can dive into the details about the Winter Game Fest Demo Event, it’s probably good to have a refresher about what the ID@Xbox program actually is. The ID@Xbox program allows independent developers to self-publish games to Xbox consoles, and while that’s big enough on its own, the program also supports developers in those endeavors by doing things like providing free dev kits and documentation.
When does the Winter Game Fest Demo Event begin
Since this is a tie-in event with The Game Awards, it comes as little surprise to hear that the Winter Game Fest Demo Event will kick off on December 7th – just a couple of days before The Game Awards. The event will run for two weeks, wrapping up on December 21st. In today’s announcement, Microsoft also made a couple of points that players should consider before diving in.
The first thing to keep in mind is that these aren’t going to be like traditional game demos in that they won’t necessarily be representative of the finished product. Since many of these games are still early in development, what we see in a given demo could drastically change by the time the full game actually releases.
Microsoft also warns players not to put off playing any demos that catch their eye, as most demos probably won’t come back after they disappear on December 21st. In short: play any demos you may be interested in while you’re sure you have the chance during the event, because there’s no guarantee that they’ll be published to the Xbox Demo channel later.
As for The 2021 Game Awards, you’ll be able to catch the show live streaming on a huge number of platforms on December 9th at 7 PM EST. The nominees for each category have already been announced, and they include a packed ticket for Game of the Year 2021.
Keyword: Xbox Winter Game Fest is about to serve up a ton of indie game demos