One announcement at The Game Awards 2018 was made rather nonchalantly, slipped in between larger announcements and made into a casual conversation with Xbox's Phil Spencer. The Xbox head revealed that Winter of Arcade, the annual holiday period where several major indie games are released on Xbox, is returning. 2018's Winter of Arcade is looking to be one worth remembering, made all the better because several of the games will be made available as part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription.
2018's Winter of Arcade will feature the launch of nine different indie games on Xbox One and the Microsoft Store between December 4 and December 21. During this period buyers can earn $5 in gift cards for each purchase after the first, starting at $5 for 2 games up to $40 for the whole set. Four of the nine games will also be available via Game Pass as free downloads on Xbox One or Windows 10 PCs.
- Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom - December 4
- Mutant Year Zero - December 4 (Game Pass, Xbox One X Enhanced)
- Subnautica - December 4 (Xbox One X Enhanced)
- Ashen - December 7 (Game Pass, Xbox One X Enhanced)
- Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek - December 7
- Kingdom Two Crowns - December 11 (Game Pass)
- Desert Child - December 12
- Below - December 14 (Game Pass, Xbox One X Enhanced)
- Donut County - December 18
Of the nine games in the Winter of Arcade this year, only two will have launched on PC via Steam or other storefronts prior to their Xbox One and Microsoft Store release date: Subnautica and Donut County. Several didn't even have a release date until their announcement today as part of the Winter of Arcade.
For example, Below has been in development for several years now and it was unclear whether Capybara's highly anticipated release would even see the light of day. Now it's launching in a week as part of Game Pass. Ashen is a similar case, though its developers have long insisted the game would launch in December this year.