Indie Horror Game Buckshot Roulette Spins Its Way to Xbox

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Indie Horror Game Buckshot Roulette Spins Its Way to Xbox

More than two years after its debut on Steam, publisher Critical Reflex brings Mikke Klubnika’s indie horror game, Buckshot Roulette, to XBOX consoles and Game Pass.

A disruptive take on the multiplayer russian roulette genre, which has seen online success in similar games like Liar’s Bar, Buckshot Roulette adds a unique twist and twist to the formula.

First and foremost, the weapon of choice here is a 12-gauge shotgun, so we’re already upping the ante. Each game starts with shotgun shells loaded into the gun, but not all bullets are live. Some are blank, and it’s up to you to decide who to shoot, including yourself.

In rogue-like fashion, you’ll also be given various items and equipment to help you on your journey, such as being able to add more lives, having live rounds that deal more damage, and more. It adds rogue-like elements to what is already chaos, especially when playing against other people. Buckshot Roulette supports 4-player action and is certainly a popular way to play the game.

Buckshot Roulette was a Breakout Indie Hit

In December, Critical Reflex announced that Bouckshot Roulette has sold more than 8 million copies since its launch. Compare that to December 2024, when they sold 4 million. Which means, as they put it, he’s really crazy. That number jumped to 9 million copies sold and over 100,000 reviews on Steam.

To celebrate the sales success, Critical Reflex has laid out their future plans for the game, including a release on consoles this year. Today marks a big step in that journey with its release on XBOX. Other console ports are still in development, as the team has been facing technical issues.

Ports for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch are still in development.

Critical Reflex is also working on a physical edition of the game’s soundtrack and additional merchandise drops. At this time, there is no word of a physical release. Given that that’s become a hot topic in the industry these days, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that come down the road at some point. All in all, Critical Reflex was nothing but hit by the response.

Looking back on these two years it feels ridiculous. From the early days, to multiplayer, crossing milestone after milestone, seeing Buckshot Roulette appear in places we never thought it would. We even bring Buckshot Roulette IRL to events like PAX and the Tokyo Game Show, complete with a real table for brave souls to meet. Which, in retrospect, is probably the most common possible outcome of this game.

Buckshot Roulette IRL It was a great experience

I was lucky enough to attend PAX East this year and check out the Buckshot Roulette IRL experience. Let me tell you something: there is a reason why these types of games are thriving.

There are many cases of people chasing “friendslop” like Meccha Chameleon, but I can’t find it. That’s not to say that Buckshot Roulette is “friendslop,” but it’s a great way to hang out with friends and enforce social interaction as we play together. Doing this as part of Buckshot Roulette IRL emphasized the social aspect of the game.

There is something beautiful about finding a way to connect with people in an increasingly social world. Sure, we can socialize online and on Discords, but that’s not ideal interaction, at least that’s not how I grew up playing local co-op and throwing parties centered around Halo and Rock Band.

Buckshot Roulette IRL showed why these games are so much fun. Sure, there’s a deeper message within Buckshot Roulette about addiction and seeing how far desperate people are willing to go, but the real winner here is getting to interact and interact with your friends.

I’m thankful for having political discussions and debates about who my friends and I should shoot, laughing at the decisions we made, and bonding over the time spent playing the game. So here’s to you, Buckshot Roulette: thanks for being you.