Microsoft and Xbox just announced a new games showcase coming this week — here's when it is, what to expect, and how to watch

Between January's Xbox Developer Direct, the recent Xbox Partner Preview showcase in March, and last week's "Xbox First Look" reveal of 4A Games' upcoming sequel Metro 2039, Microsoft has been quite busy showing off new and upcoming games headed to Xbox Series X|S and PC this year.

Originally, it was believed that the firm's next presentation wouldn't come until June 7 with Xbox Games Showcase 2026 — a show that debut Gears of War: E-Day and revive Xbox Fanfest, among other things. However, it's now been announced that there's actually another event going live this week: the ID@Xbox and IGN April 2026 Showcase.

As the presentation's title suggests, this event has been produced by Xbox in partnership with our friends at IGN, and will feature closer looks at and announcements of indie games (titles made by independent development studios) coming to Xbox and PC with aid from the ID@Xbox program.

The showcase was announced by IGN on Monday morning, which noted that it will be livestreamed on Thursday, April 23 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. GMT. You'll be able to watch it on the IGN website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter (X), Twitch, and mobile apps, with other outlets like Eurogamer, VG247, GamesIndustry.biz, and Rock Paper Shotgun streaming the presentation as well. I'd assume Xbox channels will be, too, though that's unconfirmed.

IGN says the event will be "filled to the brim with exclusive trailers, new looks, and gameplay from titles headed our way in the future," with the focus obviously being on new indie games scheduled to release on Xbox and PC at some point. We don't know much about what will be shown specifically, though there are a few confirmed appearances.

Notably, we know that There Are No Ghosts at the Grand — a genre-blending adventure game from Friday Sundae with a mix of hotel decorating, puzzle solving, ghost battling, and more — will be one of the games shown during the presentation. Another is Aphelion, a new sci-fi game from DONTNOD in which an astronaut has to save her wounded partner while being hunted on an frigid alien planet. That title is coming out just a few days later on April 28.

There are two other games we know will be at the show: Mistfall Hunter, Bellring Games' upcoming dark fantasy "third-person action PvPvE extraction RPG" that's coming out in July, and also a look at what's next for Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE, the action RPG based on the popular anime and webtoon.

Beyond these four titles, it's unknown what the show will feature, and only time will tell (unless something leaks). Thankfully, the ID@Xbox and IGN April 2026 Showcase is only a few days away, so we won't have to wait long to see everything it's showing off to Xbox and PC gamers excited to get their hands on new indie games.

Are you looking forward to watching the ID@Xbox and IGN April 2026 Showcase presentation when it's livestreamed later this week? Are you a big indie game fan? Share your thoughts with me in the comments, and be sure to vote in our poll as well.

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