20XX

Lore & Background

20XX follows Nina, an armored girl with a power blaster, and Ace, an armored boy with an energy sword, in the aftermath of a robotic uprising. They travel from their base on the Ark, a space station orbiting Earth, to clear dangerous locations infested with robots. The game's development began after a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in spring 2014, when it was called Echoes of Eridu. After a successful Kickstarter, the game joined the Fire Hose Games accelerator program and appeared in the Indie Megabooth at Penny Arcade Expo 2015.

The game was developer Chris King's first commercial game. He pursued it because he believed Capcom had ceased to make enough Mega Man titles and that he and other fans desired more of that style of gameplay. King focused on nailing the game feel to match Mega Man, with the toughest challenge being debugging the online netcode. He credits Steam Early Access as essential to the game’s release, saying he “couldn’t imagine” launching without it.

Reader's Guide

20XX holds significance as a modern homage to the Mega Man X series, filling a gap left by Capcom's reduced output of such titles. Its procedural generation and roguelite mechanics—permadeath, Soul Chips for unlocking upgrades, and currency-based purchases—distinguish it from its inspiration while retaining core platforming and boss-fight structure. The game's successful use of Steam Early Access, as noted by developer Chris King, highlights a model for indie developers to refine gameplay and netcode with community feedback. The inclusion of local and online co-op expanded its appeal. A sequel, 30XX, followed on Steam Early Access on February 17, 2021, and in full on August 9, 2023, indicating the franchise's continued relevance. 20XX is often cited alongside Mighty No. 9 as part of a wave of crowdfunded spiritual successors to classic Mega Man games, though it distinguished itself through its roguelite design and procedural levels.

Did You Know?

• 20XX was originally called Echoes of Eridu during its Kickstarter campaign in spring 2014.
• The game's most difficult development aspect was debugging its netcode for online play.
• Developer Chris King considered 20XX his last chance to take a risk on game development before starting a family.
• The soundtrack was composed by Brandon 'Cityfires' Ellis and uses chiptune and synthesizer elements to evoke a Super NES game.

Origins & Development Journey

20XX was born from a Kickstarter campaign in spring 2014, when it still carried the working title Echoes of Eridu. The project was the brainchild of Chris King, who was in his late twenties and felt he had reached a crossroads — his last realistic window to take the enormous risk of making a commercial game before family responsibilities would make such a gamble impossible. His motivation was deeply personal: he believed Capcom had stepped back from producing enough Mega Man titles, and he, along with fellow fans, craved more of that particular style of action-platforming. After the crowdfunding succeeded, the project was accepted into the Fire Hose Games accelerator program and was showcased at the Indie Megabooth during Penny Arcade Expo 2015. King has spoken openly about how Steam's Early Access model was indispensable to the project's survival and evolution, saying he could not picture shipping the finished product without that iterative feedback loop. The early access build landed on Windows via Steam in October 2016, with the full release following in August 2017.

Gameplay & Design Philosophy

The core loop of 20XX draws a clear line to Mega Man X: players battle waves of enemies and tackle punishing platforming sequences to clear each stage. What sets it apart is the procedural generation system, which assembles levels from discrete segments called chunks, ensuring no two runs feel identical. The game embraces permadeath — there is no traditional life counter — yet it softens the punishment through a roguelite framework. Soul Chips collected mid-level unlock passive upgrades that carry forward into subsequent attempts, while bolts serve as in-run currency for purchasing upgrades or topping off health and energy at vending machines. Treasure chests hide additional power-ups, and defeating a boss presents a meaningful choice: claim the boss's signature ability, take a stack of bolts, or roll a random passive upgrade. Local and online co-op are both supported, and King identified debugging the netcode as the single most challenging technical hurdle during production.

Narrative & Characters

The story of 20XX unfolds in the wake of a robotic uprising that has left dangerous machines running rampant across the world. Two protagonists carry the weight of the narrative: Nina, an armored girl whose weapon of choice is a power blaster, and Ace, an armored boy who fights with an energy sword. They operate out of the Ark, a space station in orbit around Earth, which serves as their base of operations. Rather than being heroes on a grand quest, they are essentially hired contractors, dispatched to clear out specific hazardous locations teeming with malfunctioning robots. The narrative is deliberately lean — Nintendo World Report noted the game could benefit from more story depth — and the focus remains firmly on the gameplay loop. The setting echoes the post-apocalyptic, robot-infested worlds familiar to Mega Man fans, while the duo's dynamic gives the run-based structure a light character anchor.

Legacy, Soundtrack & Reception

The 20XX franchise extended well beyond its initial release window. Console ports for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One arrived in July 2018, broadening the audience considerably. A direct sequel, 30XX, entered Steam Early Access in February 2021 and reached full completion in August 2023, confirming the series' staying power. Musically, the game's soundtrack was crafted by Brandon Cityfires Ellis, who wove chiptune and synthesizer textures together to evoke the sonic palette of a Super NES-era title. Critical reception was largely positive: Nintendo Life called the gameplay addictive and praised the upgrade and customization systems for offsetting minor repetitiveness, while Nintendo World Report recommended it to fans of Mega Man and platformers, though they wished for a deeper narrative. The game also sits in a broader lineage alongside titles like Mighty No. 9, reinforcing its place in the community-driven Mega Man-inspired scene.