This gorgeous indie game is finally launching on Xbox consoles — here’s when you can play it
Ember Lab’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits is launching on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in August 2024.
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What you need to know
A former PlayStation console exclusive is finally making its way to Xbox.
Independent studios Ember Lab shared on Monday that the team’s first game, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, is launching onXbox Series X|Sand Xbox One on Aug. 15, 2024. The game first launched on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC (via the Epic Games Store) back in September 2021, with a Steam version following in September 2022. You can check out the brief announcement trailer for the Xbox version below:
Kena: Bridge of Spirits follows the young titular Spirit Guide Kena as she embarks on a quest to save her home from corruption that is creeping in. Along the way, she collects a number of creatures known as Rot, which can aid her with unique abilities.
Is Kena: Bridge of Spirits coming to Xbox Game Pass?
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Oftentimes, games (especially indie games) that are ported to a console after initially skipping out will be included in a subscription service, with a game that was previously exclusive to Xbox hardware being included in PlayStation Plus for its PlayStation console debut, or vice-versa. That doesn’t seem to be the case here, and it looks like Kena: Bridge of Spirits will not be included inXbox Game Pass, at least for the foreseeable future.
Preorders for Kena: Bridge of Spirits aren’t live quite yet, but it looks like the game will be available for £34.99 on Xbox, or the regional equivalent, with digital and physical versions available. Xbox players will also get exclusive pirate hats for their Rot (as seen in the announcement trailer above), with the game’s anniversary update also naturally being included.
Analysis: A long time coming, but neat to see
So many indie games are ported to other platforms just a few months or a little over a year after their initial console-exclusive debuts, so it can sometimes catch me off guard when there’s a port that takes a very long time, as is the case here. Kena: Bridge of Spirits will launch on Xbox almost three years after its PlayStation debut, but still I’m glad the team has taken the effort to bring the game elsewhere, and I hope plenty of Xbox players pick it up.
Ember Lab is an independent team on the smaller side. Even so, I can’t help but wonder if this news is coming shortly before a sequel announcement either later this year or early next year.
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Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
