Xbox Games Pass free games: ‘Boyfriend Dungeon’ and ‘Sable’ are among 2021 indie titles available at launch

One of the recent announcements for Xbox Games Pass focused on the addition of upcoming games developed by independent studios. Some of the most recognizable titles include “Boyfriend Dungeon,” “Sable,” and “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2,” all confirmed to be available on the subscription-based service at launch.

What’s new on Xbox Games Pass

In the latest ID@Xbox presentation last Friday, Microsoft announced that more than 20 upcoming games from its indie studio partners would be available through Xbox Games Pass on launch day. The list includes some highly anticipated indie titles such as “Boyfriend Dungeon” from Kitfox Games, “Sable” from developer Shedworks, and “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2” from GSC Game World.

These games do not have specific release dates yet, but they are also slated to launch sometime in 2021. Also included in the list of upcoming indie titles with day-one availability on Xbox Games Pass include “Astria Ascending,” “Craftopia,” “Dead Static Drive,” “Recompile,” “Little Witch in the Woods,” fishing-themed RPG “Moonglow Bay,” “Narita Boy,” “Nobody Saves the World,” and “Omno.”

Other games being added to Xbox Games Pass already saw previous launches through different platforms, such as “Art of the Rally,” “Backbone,” “Hello Neighbor 2,” and “Library of Ruina.”

Xbox Games Pass helps indie studios and gamers get to know good indie titles

The marketing of new video game IPs is understandably one of the most challenging works an independent studio has to go through. But having their games launch on services like Xbox Games Pass helps developers immediately increase their game’s exposure considering the growing subscriber-base of the platform.

Finding good indie titles is also made a little easier for Microsoft since it has the ID@Xbox program allowing indie developers to self-publish their games on Xbox and Windows PC platforms. It is then not surprising that Xbox Games Pass also benefits from such an established partnership through this program.

No More Robots founder Mike Rose previously told Eurogamer how Xbox Games Pass has been helpful to them as an indie studio. “What more does a developer or publisher need than a s***load of players and a s***load of money?" On a more serious note, Rose also revealed that No More Robots’ latest Game Pass agreement allowed them to fund three new games launching in 2021.

Featured photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash