http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/4/51514 ... ndie-games
Microsoft is announcing an impressive lineup of developers that have signed up, including the likes of Guacamelee developer Drinkbox, Star Wars Pinball creator Zen Studios, and Tim Schafer's Double Fine. "This first wave of developers is just the start," says program director Chris Charla. Microsoft says that it has sent out more than 50 developer kits to studios, with more units being sent out daily, and has reiterated its goal of turning every Xbox One into a dev kit. The news isn't just important for games, but also the console's app ecosystem in general — Microsoft previously told us that ID@Xbox will "have some influence over how we think about apps too."
This newfound enthusiasm stands in stark contrast to the early days of the Xbox One, when many developers initially seemed cool on the console after Microsoft failed to provide many details on how it would support indie games.
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Ouya's best game, would be making its way to the PS4, for example. Meanwhile, runaway Kickstarter success Hyper Light Drifter, the first game from developer Heart Machine, is coming to both the PS4 and Vita. And those are just some of the most recent examples. The key seems to be that Sony is being proactive, seeking out these games and offering developers the tools to bring them to PlayStation devices.
"Their team is extremely easy to work with," says Heart Machine's Alex Preston, "and they're all enthusiastic about independent games getting support on the Sony platforms." According to Towerfall developer Matt Thorsen, a member of Sony's indie team actually came to his house to play the game on Ouya shortly after it was released. "The idea of bringing it to PS4 gradually took shape over the following months," he says. "Our problem with Microsoft was that you dealt with a huge corporation," adds Ismail, "and our stance on business is that it should be between people."
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The Xbox One now supports self publishing, for instance, something the 360 never did.
"We're working to make the program as accessible as possible," Charla tells The Verge. "There're no fees to apply to the program, or to submit a game for certification, or to submit game updates. We provide two dev kits to registered developers at no cost, and they also have free access to the Xbox One add-on for Unity and special Xbox One-only Unity Pro seat licenses." Indie games will also be featured alongside big-budget AAA games in the Xbox One store, making them easier to find. "We know that game discoverability has been an area of concern for developers in the past," says Charla.
However, Microsoft's efforts haven't yet led to many new game announcements.
The Xbox One's most notable indie title, Capy Games' intriguing Below, was actually announced prior to the ID@Xbox Program reveal. Today's announcement includes just two new games: Energy Hook from Happion Labs and a new Shoot Many Robots game from Demiurge. Those numbers will only continue to grow, however, as for many indie creators, the lure of a traditional gaming console is too strong. "There's no shortage of indies whose life dream is to release a console game," says Edery. Charla said only that they're "excited about what developers are creating and look forward to sharing more on specific titles soon."