Microsoft confirms Winter of Arcade lineup, offers rebate incentive for frequent purchasers

Microsoft’s mysterious revival of the Xbox 360’s indie game-spotlighting Summer of Arcade promotion, now re-tooled as ‘Winter of Arcade’ for Xbox One, has finally had its full lineup and incentives revealed tonight. Detailing the Winter of Arcade selection for tonight’s broadcast of The Game Awards, Microsoft outlined nine indie games that will be released on Xbox One throughout December, some of which having already arrived to boot! The full lineup and release dates for each Winter of Arcade game can be found below:

  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom – December 4th
  • Mutant Year Zero – December 4th
  • Subnautica – December 4th (full release)
  • Ashen – December 7th
  • Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek – December 7th
  • Kingdom Two Crowns – December 11th
  • Desert Child – December 12th
  • Below – December 14th
  • Donut County – December 18th

Additionally, Microsoft also confirmed that Ashen, Kingdom Two Crowns and Below will be added to the Xbox Game Pass catalogue right from their launch dates, joining Mutant Year Zero, which was already added to Xbox Game Pass upon its own launch date a few days ago. Players can also earn a $5 return on the Xbox Games Store for every game they purchase within the Winter of Arcade lineup, after the first. Thus, if you purchase two games, you’ll receive $5 back for your Xbox wallet, if you purchase three games, you’ll receive $10 back, and so on. This means that players can regain up to $40 in Xbox wallet rebates if they purchase the entire Winter of Arcade game lineup! There is a bit of a wrench in the works for regular Xbox Game Pass members who want the biggest Xbox wallet rebate however, since they will have unlimited access to four of the nine games for free, so long as they keep up their Xbox Game Pass membership. The Winter of Arcade promotion is also only offered this month, so you need to make the purchases between now and December 21st to receive a rebate. The Winter of Arcade promotion will be offered in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

Keep adventuring to Eggplante for all major news and updates on Winter of Arcade and Xbox Game Pass.