- LGF22 partnership with Microsoft Azure and Gamestream offers free streaming demos to players – no download required
- Highly anticipated indie games Silt, Lab Rat, Grimoire Groves, Mask of the Rose and Paper Trail available to try
- Demos are available for ten days starting on 1 April
Streaming demos of key games showcased at the London Games Festival are today available to players internationally – entirely for free, no download required – thanks to a partnership with Microsoft Azure and Gamestream.
Five upcoming indie games from the London Games Festival’s Official Selection have been chosen to take part in the offer that runs the full length of LGF22, from 1 April to 10 April.
The games are:
- Grimoire Groves (developed by Stardust). Restore the magical forest as you grow cute plant creatures with your witch magic in this cosy rogue-lite dungeon crawler.
- Lab Rat (developed by Chump Squad). Satirical adventure featuring an AI who will monitor and entertain you as you progress through 100+ genre-bending puzzles.
- Mask of the Rose (developed by Failbetter Games). A marvellous romance with a hint of murder. The latest game in the Fallen London series.
- Paper Trail (developed by Newfangled Games). A top-down puzzle adventure about leaving home. Fold and tear your way through a diverse, populated paper world.
- Silt (developed by Spiral Circus, published by Fireshine Games). Plunging players into a harrowing ocean abyss to unravel long-forgotten mysteries.
All five original titles are available from the start of London Games Festival (today, 1 April) and can be played in the UK, Western Europe and US. To play, all you have to do is follow links from each game’s page at https://showcase.games.london (full access details below).
“We are excited to partner with London Games Festival and Gamestream to give players the chance to try out five fantastic upcoming indie games from the London Games Festival’s Official Selection. At Microsoft, we are committed to help game creators fulfil their creative vision and reach the broadest possible audience of players. This is a great example of how Azure helps creators build global gaming experiences on a reliable, best-in-class cloud, in partnership with Gamestream’s proprietary game streaming technology,” said Harvey Eagle, Director of Azure Gaming, UK.
“We are thrilled to be delivering groundbreaking experiences for players at the London Games Festival alongside Microsoft Azure,” commented Ivan Lebeau, president and co-founder of Gamestream. “This partnership confirms Gamestream’s reputability in the cloud-gaming market and it’s a testament to the growing capabilities of cloud-based services. We are proud to see Gamestream continuously grow as a key technology partner enabling players to seamlessly connect wherever they are in the world.”
“London Games Festival is continually looking for new ways to champion and promote new games – and thanks to this exciting partnership with Microsoft Azure and Gamestream we have delivered something fresh and special. We believe this is the first time a global games festival has offered streaming access to games at the event to attendees in different territories,” said Festival Director Michael French. “And offering streaming gameplay demos to international games fans doesn’t just make the talent at London Games Festival more accessible – it’s an innovative development in how events and festivals can engage with the world.”
London Games Festival starts today, 1 April, and runs as a hybrid event with in-person activity across the UK capital city and a suite of content for digital participants. Along with the gameplay demo streams, LGF is producing a number of online panels and announcements, and is offering industry delegates access to a brand new networking platform.
Other highlights include:
- Trafalgar Square Exhibition – A new large-scale installation that will showcase the Official Selection plus other festival programming
- Ensemble – profiling underrepresented ethnicities working in video games, the new cohort for which was unveiled earlier this week
- Games Finance Market – which connects investors and publishers with games creators (5 April to 8 April)
- Tentpole partner events Now Play This, W.A.S.D., and the BAFTA Games Awards
For listings head to www.games.london/#whatson
London Games Festival is supported by the Mayor of London. It is delivered by Games London, an initiative from Film London, the capital’s screen industries agency, and video games trade body Ukie (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment).
Microsoft Azure and Gamestream are platinum partners supporting the festival.
They join Associate Partners Curve Games, Coutts, Taylor Wessing, PlayStation, Wizards of the Coast, Nvidia Studio and Sharkmob, plus Festival Partners Kinda Brave, Fireshine Games and Making Moves.
Overall, the online London Games Festival 2022 is set to include over 500 businesses across all its programming, making for its biggest showing since the festival started as a physical event in 2016. For more information and updates head to www.games.london or follow @londongamesfest
LGF22 DEMO STREAMS – HOW TO PLAY
Each game can be launched from its individual landing page at the Official Selection showcase site:
Grimoire Groves: https://showcase.games.london/games/grimoire-groves/
Lab Rat: https://showcase.games.london/games/labrat/
Mask of the Rose: https://showcase.games.london/games/mask-of-the-rose/
Paper Trail: https://showcase.games.london/games/paper-trail/
Silt: https://showcase.games.london/games/silt/
Notes & System Requirements:
- Games are playable on Windows, MacOS and Linux.
- Gamepad and keyboard/mouse inputs supported.
- Demos are limited to 60 minutes. Your progress is not saved
- Wired Connection or 5GHz Wi-Fi recommended plus an up-to-date browser (Chromium, Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
- Game performance depends on your internet connection and distance to the server.
- Demos do not reflect the quality of the final game
