Xbox is starting up a new program to support and promote the best indie games on the platform, and it sounds like a delightful throwback to the Xbox 360 era and its regular Summers of Arcade promotions.
Indie Selects is a new ID@Xbox initiative which aims to regularly highlight a curated selection of top indie titles. If you hit up the store page on your Xbox right now, you'll find an indie highlight section with a few themed categories, including titles from international studios and games with playable cats. These categories will rotate on a weekly basis and exist alongside the Featured Indies category, which simply highlights notable recent releases. The first Featured Indies group includes the likes of Laika: Aged Through Blood and The Talos Principle 2, so the bangers are already among us.
But it's the titular Indie Selects that really intrigue me. Once a month, the ID@Xbox team will choose six indie games to give a full stamp of approval complete with an Indie Select badge and special promotion across Xbox's social media channels. "We know there are a lot of games out there right now, and it can be difficult for unique titles to find an audience in crowded marketplaces," as an Xbox blog post explains. "With a dedicated, permanent, curated collection in the Xbox Store, we’ll be able to bring more attention to games that we feel are particularly special."
We can also help with that whole curation business: here are 10 indies that might have gone under your radar in 2023.
