The October 2025 ID@Xbox Showcase returned with a dense lineup of announcements, trailers, and updates highlighting the depth and diversity of independent games on Xbox platforms. Partnering once again with IGN, Microsoft used the event to spotlight both debut titles and major updates to established favorites, spanning horror, action, strategy, and experimental design.
Among the updates, 33 Immortals introduced its Pride and Temperance Update, expanding the co-op roguelike with new weapons and systems that enhance combat depth. In contrast, Agni: Village of Calamity brought attention to Southeast Asian game development, offering a survival horror experience grounded in Indonesian folklore. The title follows a police investigator defying orders to uncover grim secrets in a haunted rural setting.
Aphelion pushed the cinematic sci-fi angle further, setting players on a hostile alien planet at the edge of the solar system. Early footage showed a focus on atmosphere, mystery, and survival under threat from an unseen enemy. Awaysis took a more chaotic route — a physics-driven dungeon brawler promising slapstick-style combat in a crumbling floating world — while Darkwood 2 revisited its unsettling survival horror roots with new regions, threats, and standalone storytelling.
DayZ: Badlands expanded the long-running survival title into its largest official map yet, a desert wasteland shaped by war and scarcity. Featuring region-specific weapons, infected types, and environmental challenges, the expansion aims to reinvigorate the game’s player-driven survival narratives. Meanwhile, Raw Fury’s Dome Keeper arrives on Xbox in December, offering roguelike mining mixed with real-time defense mechanics.
New reveals mixed the bizarre with the bold. Don’t Fret, a psychological horror about a sentient guitar, leaned into surreal world-building, while Egging On turned frustration into design, tasking players to scale treacherous heights as a fragile egg. Invincible VS expanded its roster with new fighters ahead of its alpha test, and Monsters Are Coming! Rock & Road delivered co-op defense gameplay arriving in November.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire drew attention with its distinctive 1930s cartoon aesthetic and noir shooter narrative, launching in March 2026. From Funselektor, Over the Hill continued the studio’s minimalist visual style in a nostalgic off-road driving experience. Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf promised expanded puzzles, new biomes, and a larger scope while maintaining the first game’s emotional tone.
The lineup also highlighted smaller, inventive projects. Puppergeist explored themes of love and loss through rhythm and visual novel mechanics. Routine, set on a deteriorating lunar base, continued the trend of retro-futurist horror, and Sledding Game emphasized social play with its ragdoll physics and sandbox snow environments.
Superball, a futuristic 3v3 street-sports title, officially launched with Game Pass access, while Task Time offered chaotic, physics-driven minigames reminiscent of party classics. TCG Card Shop Simulator leaned into the simulation trend, giving players control of a collectible card store economy. UnGodly, a new RPG from Azra Games, closed out the showcase with a dark fantasy world emphasizing cinematic storytelling and moral tension.
Vampire Survivors returned with a slate of new updates, including the free Ante Chamber DLC, which adds new characters and chaotic combo mechanics, alongside new maps and online support.
The showcase once again reinforced Xbox’s commitment to spotlighting independent developers while giving Game Pass subscribers a consistent pipeline of diverse, genre-pushing titles. With much of the lineup arriving between late 2025 and 2026, the indie landscape on Xbox looks set for another ambitious year.
