| Indie Games Uprising | |
| Genre: | Video game development |
| First: | December 2010 |
| Website: | Event website |
The Indie Games Uprising is a developer led event designed to promote the "best of the best" Xbox Live Indie Games.[1] The promotion was originally conceived by Robert Boyd of Zeboyd Games and Ian Stocker of MagicalTimeBean, when they noticed that they both had games coming out in the same time frame.[2]
The first Indie Games Uprising launched in December 2010. The promotion was curated by developers Robert Boyd and Ian Stocker. Notable releases include Cthulhu Saves the World, Soulcaster II, Decimation X3 by Xona Games, and ZP2KX: Zombies & Pterodactyls! by Ska Studios. Boyd reported "spotty results" from the promotion, and cited developer's inability to set release dates on their games as a major issue.[3] Shortly after the promotion, Microsoft allowed developers to select release dates for their games.[4]
Journalist Dave Voyles and Indie Games Winter Uprising developer Kris Steele of Fun Infused Games coordinated the second Indie Games Uprising. The Indie Games Summer Uprising opened up game submissions to the public, and were then narrowed down through rounds of voting.[5] The Summer Uprising launched on August 22, 2011 and released one title daily from Monday through Friday.[6] While developers reported a varying range of sales, Cute Things Dying Violently sold over 10,000 copies in its first month of release.[7]
The Indie Games Uprising III, scheduled to start on September 10, 2012,[8] was curated by developer Michael Hicks and Summer Uprising coordinator Dave Voyles. Hicks expressed his interest in another promotion after he noticed a number of "exciting" games would be released around the same time as his own title Sententia.[9] Notable games include Gateways by the creator of The Adventures of Shuggy, and qrth-phyl from hermitgames, developer of the critically acclaimed Leave Home.[10] [11]
Launched on September 28, 2015, the Uprising aimed to highlight developers who started their career on Xbox Live Indie Games or gained something from publishing on the channel. Multiple games from previous Uprisings are featured, along with former XBLIG developers that are working on new projects for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U.[12]
| Promotion | Game | Developer |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Uprising | Soulcaster 2 | MagicalTimeBean |
| Cthulhu Saves the World | Zeboyd Games | |
| Radiangames Crossfire 2 | Radiangames | |
| Chu's Dynasty | Tribetoy | |
| Alpha Squad | Dragon Divide | |
| Epic Dungeon | eyehook | |
| Break Limit | Xalterax | |
| Decimation X3 | Xona Games | |
| Asteroids Do Concern Me | Evil Robot Logic | |
| Hypership Out of Control | Fun Infused Games | |
| Aphelion Episode Two: Wings of Omega | lunatic studios | |
| ZP2KX: Zombies & Pterodactyls! | Ska Studios | |
| Ubergridder | Zendarion | |
| Rickenbacker vs. the Aliens | Smokinskull | |
| Summer Uprising | Raventhorne | Milkstone Studios |
| Battle High: San Bruno | Mattrified | |
| Cute Things Dying Violently | ApathyWorks | |
| SpeedRunner HD | DoubleDutch Games | |
| Take Arms | Discord Games | |
| T.E.C. 3001 | Phoenix Game Studio | |
| Train Frontier Express | Team Train Frontier | |
| Doom and Destiny | Heartbit Interactive | |
| Chester | Brilliant Blue-G | |
| Redd: The Lost Temple | Blazing Forge Games | |
| Uprising III | qrth-phyl | hermitgames |
| Sententia | MichaelArts | |
| Diehard Dungeon | tricktale | |
| Gateways | Smudged Cat Games | |
| Smooth Operators | Andreas Heydeck | |
| Entropy | Autotivity | |
| City Tuesday | Chris Zukowski | |
| Xenominer | Gristmill Studios | |
| Pixel | Ratchet Game Studios |
Though not officially involved, Microsoft has supported the Indie Games Uprisings with front page dashboard promotions on Xbox Live.[13]