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Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event begins July 21 for unreleased indies

SkateBird is about a bird who skates.
SkateBird is about a bird who skates.
Image Credit: Glass Bottom Gaming

Microsoft revealed plans to roll out demos for a number of upcoming Xbox One games. The company announced in a blog post today that it will enable Xbox One owners to try out between 75 to 100 unreleased games starting July 21 and running through July 27 as part of the Summer Game Fest (also known as “Not E3”). This gives developers a place to show off demos that they were likely already working on for various (and now canceled) trade shows and fan gatherings.

Of the nearly 100 games participating in the demo festival, Microsoft says that 60 are new. This should give gaming fans an opportunity to get a small glimpse at what lies ahead. But it’s important to note that these are not prerelease demos. This is that raw gameplay you get on a kiosk in the back of an L.A. hotel room.

“Typically, the demos you see in our Demo channel are created after the game is completed (or nearly completed) and represent the final version,” writes ID@Xbox marketing boss Glenn Gregory. “Many of these demos are early, and some are for games that won’t be out for quite some time. We’ve never done this before; what that means is that you’ll get to experience these games early – some way early – which is awesome, but you should also note that these games will continue to evolve and be polished as they near release.”

Also keep in mind that the Xbox Summer Game Fest Demo Event is an ID@Xbox initiative. That means it is primarily dealing with indie games, and it isn’t directly related to Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox. The company is currently planning to hold its first-party next-gen Xbox reveal on July 23.

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