Xbox Winter Demo Event 2023 Now Live, 30+ Games Available

The ID@Xbox Winter Demo Event 2023 has begun today, allowing you to try a variety of upcoming Xbox indie games for free over the next few weeks, with the demos being made available until December 31st.

The majority of these demos will eventually be accessible via the Xbox dashboard on your console, although if they're not showing up, you may have to navigate to the "demos" section of the Xbox Store or search for them manually.

"We encourage you to check them out with friends and families during this holiday season starting today and within the coming weeks as demos become available. These demos are an early look at gameplay and may not represent the full game at their release, including the availability in each country as developers continue to update and refine their title ahead of launch. So, don’t forget you can help provide early feedback to the devs!"

Without further ado, let's take a look at what's included in the ID@Xbox Winter Demo Event 2023:

• 502's Arcade: "502's Arcade is an anthology of fast paced arcade games where your goal is to reach the top of the leaderboards in each one."

• Backbeat (Ichigoichie): "A mashup of puzzle and strategy games. Manipulate four threads of time to guide your band through sokoban-style puzzles."

• Captain Bones: "You are Captain Bones, a pirate captain who worked your way up from the bottom. In a world full of danger and opportunity, you must use your skills and determination to survive and thrive."

• Champion Shift: "Champion Shift is a unique action roguelike where our Champions fight endless hordes of enemies and traverse branching stages with the ultimate goal of defeating the Dominion and those who control it."

• Chessarama: "Chessarama is a collection of original puzzle and strategy games inspired by Chess. It reimagines chess rules and tactics using many different themes. Each game has its own set of rules, visual theme and original handcrafted challenges for you to play!"

• Deceive Inc.: "Go undercover as the world’s greatest secret agents in this multiplayer game of social stealth and subterfuge. Disguise yourself as anyone to blend into the crowd, deploy high-tech gadgets to gain the upper hand, and extract the package before the competition takes it for themselves!"

• Dinosaur Fossil Hunter: "Dinosaur Fossil Hunter is a storytelling simulator where you live a real paleontologist's life. Explore different lands, search, uncover and study uncovered fossils, and prepare the skeletons to build your own museum."

• Donut Dodo: "Donut Dodo is a light-hearted arcade game, reminiscent of the beloved classics from the early 80's that we still cherish to this very day. You play as Baker Billy Burns, who has to run, jump, and climb to outwit Donut Dodo and his bunch of clueless minions."

• Go Mecha Ball (Not available on day one): "Go Mecha Ball is an acrobatic action roguelite where you shoot, roll and boost your way through a futuristic wonderland in pursuit of an ever more glitched-out rogue AI."

• Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic: "This charming 2D hidden object game is sure to delight with its playful tone, cozy vibes and endless fun. Search for all the hidden objects scattered around beautiful hand-drawn worlds, and unlock more as you go."

• Howl: "Howl is a turn-based tactical folktale set in medieval times. A sinister "howling plague" has ravaged the land, turning all who hear it into feral beasts. You play a deaf heroine plunging into danger in search of a cure."

• KIBORG: "Strictly Combat” demo for KIBORG - upcoming 3D Slasher/RPG with rogue-lite elements. Play an endless arena with leaderboards and extensive progression between runs. Share your experience and help us make the game better!"

• King Arthur: Knight's Tale: "Face untold dangers in this tactical RPG featuring deep combat, moral choices, character progression, Camelot's rebuilding, and management of the Round Table."

• Kingdoms and Castles: "Kingdoms and Castles is a city-building simulation game about growing a kingdom from a tiny hamlet to a sprawling city and imposing castle."

• Long Gone Days: "Long Gone Days is an RPG set in the real world about human connection during war, focusing on civilians, language barriers, and borders."

• New Star GP: "New Star GP is a fast and exciting motorsport game with crisp retro visuals in which you race from the 1980s to the 2020s. Upgrade your car, choose your race perks and pit strategy, and battle a grid of CPU opponents and ever-changing weather conditions to win the championship and unlock the next decade of racing!"

• Oppidum (Not available on day one): "Face the challenges of Oppidum, a cooperative multiplayer adventure. Collaborate, craft, fight, and dive into a captivating story to uncover a powerful truth."

• Parcel Corps: "Skid onto the sun kissed streets of New Island, where three bicycle courier corporations are vying to become the biggest, most profitable business in town!"

• Pinball FX: "Discover brand new exclusive tables created for Pinball FX, or find your favorites among more than 80 unique and visually enhanced favorites from Zen's extensive digital pinball library."

• Pinball M: "Get ready to tilt into terror. The new horror-inspired pinball platform for fearless players. Prove your skills on the most sinister, gory, and badass tables ever brought to life."

• PlateUp!: "PlateUp! combines chaotic kitchen and restaurant management with strategic planning and development to create a delightful roguelite dish unlike any other."

• Puzzledorf (Not available on day one): "Puzzledorf is full of vibrant, block-pushing puzzles where simplicity meets surprising solutions. A land of different, bright and colourful places - will you make it out of the lava caverns?"

• Roguematch: The Extraplanar Invasion: "Roguematch is a new way to experience turn based dungeon crawling Roguelikes! Not only do you hack and slash your way through the castle, you also attack your enemies with raw mana by matching pieces next to them!"

• Shoulders of Giants Ultimate: "Simultaneously control a sword-wielding robot and a gunslinging space frog in Shoulders of Giants, an explosively colorful sci-fi roguelike."

• Sker Ritual: "Shoot your way through relentless waves of vicious horrors with high-octane objectives, upgrading steampunk weapons, collecting Celtic God powers, and surviving the onslaught of the Quiet Ones."

• Slave Zero X: "Run & Slash your way through a dystopian future in this character action game which will resonate with fans of Devil May Cry, Strider, and Guilty Gear."

• Slopecrashers: "Slopecrashers is an arcade snowboard combat racer in which a wild crew of animals band together on a world spanning snowboarding tour! Do stunts & combos for extra boost and collect items to protect yourself or attack competitors!"

• Space Boat: "'Space Boat' is a humorous investigative narrative game set on an intergalactic cruise-ship inhabited by various carpet based lifeforms."

• Strings Theory: "Go on an adventure on a subatomic level! Test your wits in a freaky, tricky logic game with an abstract concept and colorful heroes."

• The Holy Gosh Darn: "In six hours, Heaven will be destroyed. Unless you can save it. Use your powers of time travel to jump freely between the past and present across Heaven, Hell, Earth and Helheim."
  

• The Land Beneath Us: "The Land Beneath Us is a turn-based rogue-lite action dungeon crawler. Use powerful skill combos and stylish weaponry to battle your way through the Underworld known as Annwn."

• The Mobius Machine: "Explore and fight your way through an open interconnected world filled with brutal alien lifeforms and malfunctioning machines."

• Vagrus - The Riven Realms: Prologue: "The player takes the role of a vagrus - a caravan leader who strives to survive in a strange and dangerous dark fantasy world by leading a traveling company on all kinds of ventures."

Will you be trying any of these free Xbox demos during December? Let us know down below.

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.