Hey XO Fam,

It’s been a wild couple of weeks behind the scenes here at InsideXO, and I wanted to take a moment to give you all a peek at what’s been going on. One of the things we’ve always promised is transparency, we want you to feel like you’re growing alongside us, because this isn’t just our project, it’s a community one.

So here’s what’s been cooking lately:

Expanding the XO Community

Our Discord is slowly growing, and we are just about to launch a new tiered role system (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond) to reward everyone who’s helping bring in new members. Special perks, sneak peeks, and some fun little surprises are planned for the top recruiters.

Jason has officially stepped in as our Community Manager / Recruiter – so if you’re active in the Discord, expect to see him organizing events, running polls, and making the community a more fun place to hang out.

If you haven’t joined yet – what are you waiting for? Come hang out with us and talk games, share fan art, or even help pick what we cover next

👉 Join the XO Discord Here and start inviting friends. Who knows? You might be our first Diamond member!

Our First Studio Interview

This one’s big: following our success with our mini interview with the developer of Surroundead, we’ve secured a more comprehensive interview with Ancient Forge, the team behind the upcoming indie gem Hotel Galactic. We’ve prepared a mix of in-depth dev questions and fun, personality-driven ones because we want it to feel like you’re chatting with them over coffee, not just reading another generic interview.

You’ll see that going live soon, and trust me, some of the answers are going to be really insightful for indie dev fans!

Website Overhaul

Our front page has been… well, let’s be honest, a big block of text. Not exactly screaming “cool gaming hub.”

So, we’re redesigning! Expect a cleaner, more modern layout with featured articles at the top, quick-hit indie news updates, and sections for reviews, interviews, and XO Insider’s (like this one). It’s coming along nicely, and we can’t wait to share it!

XO Content – What’s Next?

Our recent feature, “5 Indie Gems That Should Be on Your Radar in July 2025,” has been a hit. Expect more lists like this, but we’re also diving into:

• Mini “What We’re Playing” updates – quick community takes on games we’re trying.
• Behind-the-scenes posts – showing you how we pick games to cover.
• More XO Insider (if you like this one!).

We’re still holding off with video/TikTok for the moment, focusing on written content first. But hey, when we get back to video, we’ll be way more prepared, if you have any content idea’s though we would love to hear them!

Long-Term Goals

insideXO isn’t just about writing reviews; it’s about shining a light on great indie devs and building a community around them. Down the line, we want to:

• Host Discord game nights with devs & players.
• Launch a small podcast series (maybe monthly at first).
• Start an Indie Spotlight series where we talk directly with devs about their creative process.

That’s where we’re at right now. It’s a lot of work, but it’s exciting work, and we couldn’t do it without you guys reading, commenting, and hanging out in the community.

If you’ve got suggestions, indie games you want us to check out, or just want to chat – drop by the Discord and let us know.

Thanks for sticking with us on this journey. XO is only just getting started.

– SkullFireXO
Founder & Lead Strategist, InsideXO