Microsoft wants to make Windows 10 a platform for gaming, and to do that, they plan to open the Windows 10 Store up to independent game developers through their ID@Xbox program. The first batch of ID@Xbox games through the Windows 10 Store will include 17 titles. Some of these games are currently available (or will be available soon) for the PC through Steam or other download services, but many of them will be brand new to the platform when Windows 10 launches later this year.
However, the biggest news to come out of this announcement is that the Battletoads will return in one of these ID@Xbox games. Zitz, Pimple, and Rash won’t be starring in their own adventure (yet), but they will provide assistance to Yacht Club’s Shovel Knight when his eponymous game appears on the Windows 10 Store. The Behemoth confirmed that their next project, Game 4, will also appear on the Windows 10 platform, which makes sense given its previously announced Xbox One exclusivity.
Many ID@Xbox titles on Windows 10 will provide cross-platform multiplayer with their Xbox One counterpart (if they have an Xbox One counterpart) and the developers interviewed in the Microsoft-produced video above seem very happy with the ease of the development environment.
The rest of the games that comprise ID@Xbox’s “tip of the iceberg” on Windows 10 can be found after the break.
- Ashen (Aurora44): In this third-person action-role-playing game, you are a lone wanderer in a sunless land.
- Bierzerkers (Shield Break Studios): It’s a team-based, multiplayer combat game set in the Viking afterlife. Prepare for battle!
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR): A run-and-gun adventure, with plenty of 1930s style to it.
- Divinity: Original Sin (Larian Studios): One of the most critically acclaimed role-playing games of 2014 arrives on Windows 10 PCs. Hooray!
- Dungeons & Dragons: Sword Coast Legends (n-Space/Digital Extremes): Four players can participate in a campaign managed by a live, human Dungeon Master on a fifth PC, in real-time. Now this is D&D.
- Game 4 (The Behemoth): The Behemoth brings their inimitable style to turn-based strategy! Game 4 will feature cross-play with the Xbox One version of the game.
- IDARB (Other Ocean): In its developer’s own words, IDARB is “a chaotic 8-player eSport jumping jetpack future arena ball game.” That’s about as accurate a description as any we’ve heard. IDARB will feature cross-play with the Xbox One version of the game.
- Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (Asteroid Base): Jump in your neon battleship and explore the galaxy in this frantic co-op action game.
- Pillars of Eternity (Obsidian Entertainment/Paradox Interactive): It’s a classic RPG inspired by the likes of Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale – and that’s pretty much all we need to hear to be excited about this one.
- Pinball FX2 (Zen Studios): It’s the most powerful virtual pinball platform in existence – and if you’ve never played Pinball FX2, there’s never been a better time to jump on board!
- Shovel Knight (Yacht Club Games): Steel thy shovel! The amazing retro sidescrolling adventure comes to Windows 10 PCs, with special guest stars courtesy of Rare, The Battletoads!
- Siegecraft Commander (Blowfish Studios): Sharp mechanics and positional tactics combine to form one of the coolest strategic games we’ve ever seen. Siegecraft will feature cross play with the Xbox One version of the game!
- Super Dungeon Bros (React! Games/Wired Productions): A multiplayer dungeon-crawling extravaganza with a rock music theme. Get your bros together and get ready to rock out! SDB will feature cross play with the Xbox One version of the game.
- Swordy (Frogshark): In this multiplayer physics brawler, you will hit your friends until they explode. You really have to see this one to wrap your head around this craziness.
- The Long Dark (Hinterland Games): The lights have gone out, and they’re not coming back. This survival simulation gives you a front seat to the end of the world.
- This War of Mine (11 Bit Studios): In war, not everyone is a soldier – and in this unique tale, you play as a group of ordinary citizens who are just trying to survive.
- Wasteland 2 (inXile Entertainment): The sequel to one of the most beloved post-apocalyptic RPGs ever made is coming to Windows 10!
