The Future of Indie Games in Europe, Middle East, and Africa

As part of Xbox’s global support for rising talents, a special Xbox Developer Session was held for the EMEA region. The session brought together top indie studios from the area and gave a deep look at five new games, all created by passionate and creative development teams offering unique and rich gameplay experiences.

Winter Burrow – A Tiny Mouse Facing the Big Winter

From the cold northern forests, Pine Creek Games brings us Winter Burrow, a unique survival game about a little mouse returning to their abandoned family burrow and starting an adventure to restore it in the middle of a harsh winter.

The game mixes the warm feeling of home with outdoor danger. Players manage three main stats: warmth, hunger, and health. It starts by collecting wood and simple resources to craft tools like axes and ropes, then progresses to exploring dangerous areas like Shadow Pines, where enemies hide and survival requires a lantern.

A key feature is its environmental detail: snow, wind, and lighting changes affect player movement and decisions. The game uses visual and thermal effects to show freezing conditions, making every step outside the burrow tense and risky.

Inspired by books like Wind in the Willows and games like Don’t Starve, Winter Burrow offers a cozy yet intense survival experience with emotional depth.

Outbound – Living Freely on Wheels

From the Netherlands, Square Glade Games presents Outbound, a creative life simulation where players live in a mobile home they can customize, expand, and turn into a personal base on wheels.

The game starts with a peaceful countryside journey, evolving into an open building and exploration experience. Players collect materials, craft tools, and manage power sources like sun and wind to run the vehicle and equipment. A dynamic interface lets players unlock gates, set up workbenches, or cook herbs gathered during travel.

One standout feature is its interior and exterior building system: you can build vertically, add rooms on the roof, install windows and sloped roofs, and design kitchens or mobile gardens. All parts fold in automatically while driving, allowing free movement without sacrificing your design.

During the showcase, small flying drones were seen, and developers mentioned adding flying vehicles could be part of future updates. The game supports solo and co-op modes, letting players shape their journey alone or with friends on the open road.

Hela – A Magical World Through a Mouse’s Eyes

From Sweden, Windup Games revealed Hela, an open adventure game starring a small mouse called “Familiar” who follows a kind but ill witch and tries to restore balance to the world.

The game’s world is inspired by Swedish countryside, filled with wildlife, rivers, and crafting zones. The mouse carries a magical frog-shaped backpack that functions as a hook, balloon, or swimming tool.

Hela combines exploration, puzzles, co-op (up to 4 players), and crafting. A unique mechanic is the “shadow,” a second version of yourself that helps with puzzles when playing solo. The visual style is colorful and warm, and the soundtrack by Unravel’s composers adds a dreamy vibe.

Hela focuses not on combat but on creativity, cooperation, and joyful play in a magical natural world. It’s one of the most heartwarming titles of the session.

The Alters – When Your Copies Are Allies and Enemies

Poland’s 11 Bit Studios presented The Alters, a deep survival and psychological story game about Jan, a miner stranded on a hostile planet, trying to operate an entire base alone.

But Jan can’t survive alone, so he uses a strange substance called Repidium to create “alternate versions” of himself—each with its own personality, past, and skills. What begins as a technical solution becomes an emotional journey as these versions interact, argue, and may even rebel.

The game combines time management, resource control, psychological relationships, and ethical choices. Each clone has a dramatic backstory, like the “Engineer” who made choices Jan regrets not making.

Gameplay includes base-building in a side view, plus 3D exploration outside. The Alters isn’t just survival—it’s a philosophical experience about what it means to be someone else.

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault – When Dungeon Meets Store Again

Finally, Spain’s Digital Sun revealed Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, the sequel to the beloved indie hit. The game keeps the core idea: a warrior explores dungeons at night and runs a shop during the day—now in full 3D with deeper systems.

Combat is now more dynamic, with many weapon types, perks, and modifiers that change gameplay each run. Players strategically manage their backpack, as item placement affects interactions and profits when selling at the shop.

The shop is now a full gameplay element: plan sales strategies, trigger profit chains, use random events, and build synergies to increase item value.

Moonlighter 2 strikes a perfect balance between challenge, customization, and strategy depth—one of the most exciting indie titles on the horizon.

Xbox’s Ongoing Support for EMEA Developers

Since launching the ID@Xbox program in 2013, Xbox has paid over $5 billion to indie developers. Over 1,000 games now support Xbox Play Anywhere, letting players switch between Xbox and PC while keeping progress and purchases.

Xbox has also supported more than 200 developer teams globally through programs like:

• Developer Acceleration Program: Funding and tech support for new projects.

• Game Camps: Workshops held in many parts of the world.
• Game Pass Exposure: Bringing indie games to a global audience via Xbox Game Pass.

In the indie game world where passion leads the way, events like the Xbox Developer Session for EMEA are vital platforms that let these teams shine and tell their stories in unique and creative ways. Five games, five visions—what connects them is the belief that creativity knows no borders. Whether it’s a mouse fighting winter, a mobile base crossing the land, or deep magical and emotional journeys, Xbox proves again its strong support for the new voices building tomorrow’s adventures, today.