Bad Magpie lands on Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass next year

Milktooth announced Bad Magpie will launch next year on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and cloud. The game will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch and supports Xbox Play Anywhere for cross-save play between console and PC. The title premiered during the Xbox Games Showcase.

Players control a one-winged magpie that cannot fly and seeks shiny trinkets for a fallen star. The game uses a small, non-linear open world presented in a 3D isometric view with pixelated and cell-shaded visuals.

Gameplay focuses on exploration and environmental puzzle solving. The magpie has a limited set of actions: chirp, peck or pick up objects, and contextually interact with items held. There is no spoken or written dialogue and the game contains no cutscenes.

Puzzles and progression emerge from manipulating objects and the environment. Interactions include striking flint-like rocks to spark fires that can spread through grass and wood, using loud noises such as a megaphone to shatter glass, and combining items to produce effects, for example dropping an apple into oil. The studio describes systems that allow multiple solutions to most puzzles.

An area shown during the showcase assigns the player a task from a snake-like creature wearing jeweled rings: collect 20 meteorite shards. The same area contains additional shards, with 30 available in total for players seeking full completion. Environments include abandoned human spaces repurposed by animal characters, and some tasks involve breaking objects such as sandcastles or car windows to reach hidden trinkets.

Milktooth’s promotional text reads: “You are a magpie. One wing. No flock. One obsession: a fallen star.” The studio also describes the world as densely packed with items to peck, steal, combine and meddle with, and says every puzzle has multiple solutions.

Bad Magpie will be downloadable by Game Pass subscribers at no extra purchase. Xbox Play Anywhere support will allow progress to carry across console and PC versions. The developer has not announced a specific release date beyond the 2027 release window.