Lightyear Frontier interview: how ID@Xbox program led to day-one Xbox Game Pass launch

With Lightyear Frontier out now on Xbox Game Pass, we had the chance to chat with Frame Break CEO Joakim Kopriva Hedström about the Game Pass experience!

Heidi Nicholas

Published 21 Mar 2024

The Lightyear Frontier achievements are in, the game is out now on Game Pass (via Early Access), and the time to (mech) suit up and get down to farming on an alien planet has arrived! Lightyear Frontier has been one of the most intriguing entries on our massive list of all upcoming Game Pass games, and now that it's finally arrived, we had the chance to talk to Frame Break CEO Joakim Kopriva Hedström about the experience for our interview about Lightyear Frontier on Xbox Game Pass.

Frame Break CEO on ID@Xbox team: "I can’t thank them enough for giving us the opportunity that led to all this"

"It’s very exciting," Hedström says about launching Lightyear Frontier into Xbox Game Pass as a day-one addition. "Of course, it’s a bit daunting to launch on such a big platform right out the gate but we also can’t wait to get our game into a ton of players’ hands." This, Hedström adds, plays into encouraging players to try a game which is "surprisingly difficult to explain in words (there are many ways for people to interpret 'mech farming') so our hope is that being on Game Pass will lower the barrier of entry for people on the fence to try out the game and get what it’s all about."

Xbox Game Pass is constantly adding new games or announcing upcoming additions, and it's always interesting to hear about how these Game Pass partnerships with Microsoft begin. "Our relationship with Microsoft has its roots before the game was even announced, where we joined the ID@Xbox program to bring the game to console," Hedström continues. "This in turn gave us the opportunity to announce the game at the ID@Xbox Indie showcase in August 2021, which led to a much greater response than expected. This huge response was the catalyst for deeper discussions with Microsoft which eventually resulted in the day-one Game Pass partnership.

"It’s truly been a case of 'one thing lead to another' and suddenly we’re here. You can trace it back to the ID@Xbox team reaching out to us to tell us about the program when we were just starting our indie journey, and I can’t thank them enough for giving us the opportunity that led to all this."

We've had the chance to speak to a number of developers about the experience of launching a game into Game Pass, and one key impression that's always come back is how much of a benefit the service can be. "Lowering the barrier of entry does a lot to make players try out games they otherwise would be hesitant to buy, and makes it easier than ever for players to explore and expand their taste in games," Hedström says. "My hope is that this allows for more experimental and niche games to find their audience and thrive, where they would otherwise have struggled on traditional distribution platforms."

If you're ready to dive into Lightyear Frontier today, don't forget to check out our exclusive reveal of the Lightyear Frontier achievements, where Hedström was also kind enough to talk us through the team's design process!

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Written by Heidi Nicholas

Heidi tends to lean towards indie games, RPGs, and open-world games on Xbox, and when not playing Disney Dreamlight Valley, happily installs every new wholesome game that appears on Xbox Game Pass, before diving back into favorites like The Witcher 3. She's looking forward to Age of Mythology Retold, Everwild, Fable, and Avowed on the Xbox horizon. Heidi graduated with an MA in English Literature before joining the TrueAchievements team.