Xbox's August Indie Selects Include Deer & Boy and Five More Picks

Six Games to Help You Figure Out What to Play Next

Summer is slipping away fast, and if your backlog is starting to feel more like a burden than a blessing, the ID@Xbox team wants to help. On August 5, the team published its Indie Selects list for August 2026, spotlighting six hand-picked independent games across a wide range of tones and styles. According to the Xbox Wire post authored by Raymond Estrada, Steven Allen, Deron Mann, and Oscar Polanco, the lineup is designed to offer something for almost anyone, whether they are after a cozy retreat or a genuinely demanding challenge.

The Indie Selects program runs through a dedicated hub in the Xbox Store and at Xbox.com/IndieSelects, refreshing every Wednesday with new themed spotlights. Think of it as a friendly nudge from people who have played a lot of games and want to point you toward the ones worth your time.

Deer & Boy Leads the Conversation

The game getting the most descriptive attention in this month’s roundup is Deer & Boy, published by Dear Villagers and priced at $19.99. The ID@Xbox team describes it as a title that does not rely on words to tell its story, calling it “a beautiful reminder that some stories don’t need words.”

For context, the post draws a comparison to Ori and the Blind Forest, noting that both games use wordless storytelling, emotional music, and expressive animation to create affecting experiences. The key distinction, according to the team, is that Ori leans into fast-paced platforming and precision while Deer & Boy takes a different direction. It is the kind of game, they write, that “quietly stays with you long after you’ve put the controller down” rather than one that dazzles through spectacle.

That is a meaningful distinction. There are plenty of visually ambitious indie games competing for attention right now, and the Deer & Boy framing suggests it is going for something quieter and more personal.

A Mix of Moods Across the Full Lineup

The remaining five picks were presented without ranked order, which is a deliberate choice on the ID@Xbox team’s part. Rather than declaring a single must-play, they have laid out a spread. As described in the post, players can expect “friendly ghosts and frightening ones, relaxing retreats and high-stakes adventures, with stories both intimate and epic in scale.”

That language suggests the six games were chosen partly to complement each other, offering a palette rather than a single recommendation. Someone burned out on intense experiences might gravitate toward one end of the list. Someone craving tension and stakes can find that too.

The full source text does not provide complete details on all six titles beyond the Deer & Boy entry, but the framing from the camp counselor-titled ID@Xbox team is consistent with how the program has operated: a mix of critical darlings and quieter surprises that might not surface organically in a crowded marketplace.

Where to Find the Hub

For anyone who wants to browse at their own pace, the Indie Select Hub is available directly in the Xbox Store and through Xbox.com/IndieSelects. The team updates it every Wednesday with rotating themed spotlights alongside the monthly curated collection, so there is reason to check back regularly rather than treating it as a one-and-done list.

At $19.99, Deer & Boy sits at a price point that reflects the indie mid-tier, neither a budget impulse buy nor a full retail ask. If the Ori comparison lands for you, that context alone is worth something when deciding where to spend an August evening.