A Plague Tale: Innocence was available for free through PlayStation Plus in July and is currently available on Xbox Game Pass. A free update allowed the game to run at 4K/60 FPS on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 along with adding DualSense support for the later. A sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem, is also in development and slated to release next year.

Next week’s free game is Rebel Galaxy, an open world action RPG developed by Double Damage Games. Along with having a number of ships to choose from and upgrade, players can also look to create alliances and indulge in trade. It received a sequel in Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, which offers a more Freelancer-esque space dog-fighting experience.

Hey folks,

The release of Speed Brawl on the Epic Games Store has been temporarily delayed as we investigate a technical issue.

In the meantime, we’re offering Minit as the free title alongside A Plague Tale: Innocence this week.

Thanks for your patience!

— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) August 5, 2021

It’s a new week for freebies on the Epic Games Store. Costume Quest and SOMA are gone and Nuclear Throne, a top-down roguelike shooter from Vlambeer is in. Reikon Games’ Ruiner, another top-down shooter but set in a cyberpunk city, is also free.

Enter the Gungeon and The Binding of Isaac fans will probably like Nuclear Throne. You battle through a post-nuclear series of levels, battling other mutants and gathering weapons – along with taking on perks through mutations – to eventually claim the titular Nuclear Throne. It’s tough but fairly addicting.

Ruiner might be more interesting due to its neo-noir aesthetic and extensive gritty violence. It’s not a roguelike but there are a series of weapons, upgrades and some strong melee combat features to keep you hooked. Both games will be available November 14th. The next free title will be Sabotage Studio’s The Messenger, a retro platformer that’s inspired by Ninja Gaiden.

Bullet-hell/arcade shooter Luftrausers has finally received a release date. Initially revealed for the PS3 and PS Vita, the game will also be arriving for PC on March 18th according to Valmbeer. It will be published by Devolver Digital.

Those interested in the PC version can head over to Steam or the Humble Store and pre-order it. You’ll get a 10 percent discount from the usual $10/£6.99 price. Those with tons of friends can also pick up the Air Raid Pack, which contains 1 DRM-free version and 100 giftable Steam keys. It goes for $749.99/£524.25, so it’s also a good way for you and 100 other buddies to avail of discounts rather than purchasing the game in bulk.

Luftrausers is unlike most other arcade shooters as it focuses on survival and increasing your survival times as much as possible. It’s also presented in a sweet monochrome colour scheme. Stay tuned for more information on the game in the coming weeks.

When Microsoft first introduced its ID@Xbox program, it was intended to correct several problems with the current indie development scene for the Xbox One. Firstly, it would allow developers to self-publish their games on Xbox Live without needing Microsoft or a third party as publisher. Secondly, it allowed any one – even one single individual – to develop for the console and bring their games out to the world.

After the heavily negative reaction for the initial policies of the Xbox One, which caused several indie devs to opt for Sony and the PlayStation 4 instead, this was a huge step-up. The announcement that more than 30 developers had signed up for the program made it even sweeter. However, ID@Xbox has a parity clause within. This states that if you want to bring your game to the Xbox One but also release it on other platforms, then all platform releases need to happen at the same time. That is, unless you already had an exclusivity agreement in place with another platform predating the announcement of ID@Xbox.

This was the case with Vlambeer, developer of Luftrausers and Nuclear Throne, though co-founder Rami Ismail was far from happy about it.

Speaking to Witch Beam’s Sanatana Mishra, who developed Assault Android Cactus, GamingBolt was told that there were three reasons the studio wasn’t on the list of announced ID@Xbox devs. Firstly, they are initially told there would be no self publishing on the Xbox One. Secondly, when they were initially approached by Microsoft and asked to contact them, there was no response. Thirdly, it was made clear that if Witch Beam wanted to be on Xbox One, they had to delay the PS4, PS Vita and Wii U versions of Assault Android Cactus due to this parity clause.

“We started work on our Wii U, PS4, and PS Vita versions a while back and they will most definitely be ready before any hypothetical Xbox One version could be, as a team of 3 we can’t really build in many platforms simultaneously. My understanding of the ID@Xbox launch parity clause is that you need to launch at the same time or first on Xbox One, which in our case would mean delaying the other platforms as they would definitely be ready earlier.

“As for [reasons] 1 and 2, they are more like reasons we would be hesitant to jump in to Xbox One development than something that would prevent us entirely. The ID@XBox program is very developer friendly aside from the launch parity clause.”

So say you have an Xbox One title that is also set to launch on the PS4 at the same time. Say your title is delayed on the Xbox One for any sudden reason. That means you have to delay it for the PS4 as well and according to Mishra, “I believe the rule applies to Wii U as well, but yeah the clause stipulates you need launch parity on the Xbox One version in order to be a part of the ID@Xbox program which means you cannot launch first on another platform.”

Microsoft is wiling to work with developers who already have exclusivity agreements in place on a case-by-case basis. Do Sony or Nintendo have such launch day parity clauses? Sony doesn’t, and though Nintendo hasn’t confirmed as such, Mishra is confident this isn’t the case with the latter either.

So say you want to bring your game to Xbox One at some point after hearing about ID@Xbox, but already have it in development for other platforms and aren’t willing to postpone their release for the same (as is the case with Assault Android Cactus). Mishra confirmed that, “Based on the clause we would be breaking the rules of the ID@Xbox program so we have no plans to bring Assault Android Cactus to the Xbox One.”

Other indie developers including Xiotex Studios’ Byron Atkinson-Jones and Two Tails Games founder Mitch have also expressed their disdain for the clause.

@LewieP @SanatanaMishra well, that kind of confirms that it’s not universally indie friendly then.

— Byron Atkinson-Jones (@xiotex) December 5, 2013

@LewieP @xiotex @SanatanaMishra it’s a pointless policy. It will only hurt Xbox long term.

— Mitch (@onimitch) December 5, 2013

In conclusion, it’s easy to see why Microsoft is asking for such parity. After the massive response to Sony’s “open arms” approach for indie development, the company wanted to prevent any more timed exclusive indie titles in the future. Remember, this is not currently the case for games announced before ID@Xbox was revealed – those games would be eligible for release later on Xbox One but will need to go through Microsoft and work it out (as Vlambeer has). Games that were already in development for PS4, Vita and Wii U when ID@Xbox was revealed and don’t have exclusivity agreements but also can’t devote resources for an Xbox One release? They’re flat out of luck.

Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail has called on developers to put an end to the parity clause. What are your thoughts on it? Do you believe it’s a smart tactic by Microsoft or just another flub by a company that has had nearly nothing but flubs this year as far as the Xbox One is concerned? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Indie developer Vlambeer, which worked on Ridiculous Fishing and is currently working on Luftrausers, has highlighted a flaw with Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program for the Xbox One. It allows for indie developers – regardless of size – to develop for the console with all features accessible and self-publish it. So what’s the problem? According to Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail, there is a clause in the policy that states that any game arriving for Xbox One also releases for other formats at the same time.

Speaking to Joystiq, Ismail stated that, “Microsoft was doing reach-out to certain developers back in the early days of ID@Xbox, and we discussed potentially bringing Nuclear Throne to Xbox One with them. There had been mentions beforehand that there was a launch parity clause in the contract, with the exception of games that were already signed to another platform during the announcement of their self-publishing program. Thus, before we signed with Microsoft, we e-mailed Sony that we quickly wanted to sign Nuclear Throne with them with a month of exclusivity.”

Yes, you can break the clause if you sign an exclusivity deal beforehand. However, this presents a problem for indie devs due to constraints in resources. It’s hard enough creating a game for one platform – try developing for two.

Ismail has called for the parity clause to be removed. “Honestly, we’ve had enough trouble with our promise for a simultaneous release for Luftrausers, so by getting rid of parity we’d be able to focus on one platform for Nuclear Throne first. We’d rather Microsoft allow us not only the freedom to self-publish, but also to publish in whatever order we prefer…. We’ll keep pushing for Microsoft to drop the clause, and we’d recommend any other developer to do the same.”

What are your thoughts on the same? Let us know in the comments below.

In a blog post, Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail stated that, “Sony is doing great, we’ve signed up for ID@Xbox and we’ll continue talking to Nintendo. It’s something we’ve been talking about with Microsoft for a while now and something I feel is a huge leap in the right direction.”

Of course, had his issues with the new scheme due to the sheer scale of its inclusiveness. But at Gamescom, “I caught up with Chris Charla today at Gamescom and he reassured me some of these limitations are temporary or guided by hardware constraints, which is reassuring.

“Another reservation might be that Microsoft doesn’t exactly have a great history in following up on their promises, and before we fully back the initiative we want to go through the gauntlet for a project. Making Chris as visible as he is makes someone responsible for what happens, and that feeling of knowing who to turn to makes Microsoft a much more agreeable entity to do business with.”

Given the freedom that PS4 indie devs have received, we think that the least that Microsoft could do is deliver on its promises (this time around, at least).

So what’s the deal? Luftrausers essentially challenges you to collect points, upgrade your plane with over 125 different combinations and complete the 100 odd missions in an effort to succeed. You need to get better, stronger, faster and smarter as the game wears on, if you want to beat the final boss.

Commnuity challenges help keep the game fresh, though the developers are incredibly keen on the challenging nature of the game to ensure that. Luftrausers will be out later this year on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita along with PC, Linux and Mac.

The third chapter in the Serious Sam Indie Series is going in with guns blazing as Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Radical Fishing) prepares to launch Serious Sam: The Random Encounter on PC. The retro-styled RPG follows the legendary Serious Sam as he battles legions of bizarre creatures alongside his oddball cast of mercenary friends. Serious Sam fans around the world will be able to get their hands on Vlambeer’s bundle of turn-based digital fun for $4.99 on Steam, Get Games, and other digital distribution services mid-October.