Highlights
- Cyberware's upcoming game Solarpunk merges survival gameplay with floating islands in a futuristic world, emphasizing renewable energy sources.
- Fans are rallying for an Xbox Game Pass version of Solarpunk, showing support on social media for inclusion in the digital subscription service.
- With Cyberware's previous successes on Steam, the chances of Solarpunk making it to Xbox seem favorable, adding to Game Pass's diverse lineup.
Last year, the reveal trailer for Solarpunk flew quietly under the radar, but fans have caught wind of this Minecraft-meets-Stardew-Valley fusion. From this newfound attention comes the demand for Solarpunk to feature on Xbox Game Pass.
Published by Rokaplay and developed by Cyberware, Solarpunk is a survival game set in a futuristic world full of floating islands. Players can gather materials, grow crops, build gadgets, and explore other areas in an airship. Elemental advantages like sunlight, wind, and rain can be used to craft an energy-efficient system for watering plants and mining resources. Solarpunk will act as German developer Cyberwave's first solo project, having previously co-developed Balloon Flight, Sloth Simulator, and Hourglass. The game is confirmed to be coming to Steam, but the fate of Solarpunk's console release seems to be in the hands of the fans.
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The Community Demands An Xbox Edition of Solarpunk
On May 31, the team behind Solarpunk asked the community if an Xbox Game Pass version of the game would be a worthwhile investment. Over on Twitter, the developers reached out directly to Xbox to request a one-on-one meeting with Phil Spencer, the Founder and CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
Only time will tell if Solarpunk earns an Xbox release, but the odds are good. Cyberware's other titles have received positive reviews on Steam, particularly Hourglass, a puzzle-solving game set in Ancient Egypt. Players control Aywa, an adventurer navigating Egypt in search of her missing father, a respected archaeologist. Solarpunk will maintain Cyberware's constant theme of advanced technology, but instead mimic the mechanics of other popular "cozy" games such as Stardew Valley.
Although Cyberware borrowed the term to title its latest release, "solarpunk" refers to a subgenre pertaining to the progression of technology alongside the natural environment. Some examples include Synergy, Astroneer, Cities: Skylines, and the Anno game series.
Solarpunk could join several other favorites in the Xbox Game Pass Catalog, featuring many games showcasing LGBTQIA+ creators this Pride Month, namely The Quarry, Starfield, Celeste, Unpacking, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and many more. Game Pass constantly adds and removes titles, so there's always a fresh selection of games to choose from. With any amount of luck, Solarpunk may just appear in one of this year's cycles.
An official release date has yet to be confirmed, but the Solarpunk team are appealing to Microsoft in the pursuit of an Xbox release, so it may be sooner rather than later.
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