Amidst the glut of video game showcases from large publishers and Summer Game Fest, the Triple-i Initiative is trying something a bit different. This collective of top indie developers includes Evil Empire (Dead Cells DLC), Thunder Lotus Games (Spiritfarer), Mega Crit (Slay the Spire), and many more, who all gathered together to show off what they’re calling “iii games” — or “blockbuster indie titles.”
“Since using letters seems to be the trend in the industry, we figured that adding a couple of i’s to indie was a fair way to describe this new format. Also, triple-i just sounds cool,” said Evil Empire marketing director Bérenger Dupré.
The very first Triple-i digital showcase debuted Wednesday and ran for around 45 minutes with over 30 announcements, including content updates, release dates, and, of course, game reveals. Watch the full stream for the entire lineup — but in the meantime, here are nine big announcements and reveals from the showcase.
Slay the Spire 2 reveal
A sequel to the acclaimed deckbuilding roguelike Slay the Spire has been revealed. The teaser didn’t show us much when it kicked off the Triple-i showcase, but from screenshots sent to the press, we know there will be a new class — called the Necrobinder — joining the Ironclad and the Silent. The game will be hitting early access in 2025.
Risk of Rain 2 free update
Dead Cells has been a running theme across the Triple-i showcase, and this Risk of Rain 2 announcement was no different. Gearbox Publishing announced that the game will be teaming up with Motion Twin for a Dead Cells crossover, which will include a Prisoner skin. The free Devotion update will also include a new map and more.
Dinolords will allow you to fight dinosaurs in a medieval setting
Dinolords seems like a traditional medieval city builder and tower defense RTS at first, except for one twist: the enemies ride around on dinosaurs. Feels like that’s all you need to know. It’s coming to Steam Early Access first, although no date was revealed. Still, you can wishlist now.
Vampire Survivors is getting Contra DLC
Vampire Survivors is teaming up with Konami for the Operation Guns DLC, joining the forces of the undead and the Contra series for a release on May 9. The trailer is expectedly full of the frenetic action the game is known for, but now you can fight with retro assault weapons and as a werewolf with a gun. Ahead of the DLC announcement, it was also revealed that the game would be coming to PlayStation 4 and 5 in summer 2024.
Never Alone 2 gets first trailer
Never Alone, from 2014, was a puzzle platformer centered around a traditional Iñupiat story, which separated it quite a bit from other games at the time. Never Alone 2 was announced back in 2022, but the Triple-i showcase revealed the first trailer. The game will feature an original story by an Iñupiat writer and will follow a new story with Nuna and her arctic fox companion from the first game.
Darkest Dungeon 2’s free game mode coming soon
Darkest Dungeon 2 is getting a huge update later this year — with a whole new standalone campaign called Kingdoms, which features new monster factions and more.
We guess this Palworld arena teaser counts as an announcement
Fans of the survival crafting hit Palworld have something to look forward to. An arena mode is coming to the game sometime this year. The teaser shown off during the showcase is… extremely short, but you can watch it if you want to know every scant detail.
Cataclismo announcement
Cataclismo is a real-time strategy and tower defense game from Digital Sun, the developers of Moonlighter. The game takes place in the city of Hogar, which has to defend itself against horrible creatures coming from the mist. There will be magic, ancient civilizations, and “Lego”-style building, according to the developers. It’s set to launch on PC July 16.
The Rogue Prince of Persia announced from the Dead Cells team
This isn’t the Sands of Time remake — but Evil Empire, the development team behind post-launch Dead Cells content, is releasing an indie Prince of Persia game that will hit Steam Early Access on May 14. This roguelike action-platformer takes a lot of inspiration from both Prince of Persia and Dead Cells, and it comes with an excellent cinematic trailer.
