“Independent creators have never been more important to Xbox,” says Program Director
We all know how important indie games have become to Xbox over the last decade, especially since the creation of the ID@Xbox program in 2013, and while Microsoft will now be focusing a lot of attention on Activision Blizzard moving forward, it appears that there are no plans to slow down on the indie front at all.
Guy Richards, ID@Xbox director, recently spoke to GamesIndustry.biz for Paris Games Week, stating that indie developers “have never been more important to Xbox” and that the team is investing more than ever in their games.
“The team working with indie creators has never been bigger and we have never been investing in more indie games, whether it’s through ID@Xbox or the Developer Acceleration program, designed to support creators from underrepresented groups.”
“I think with the Activision-Blizzard-King acquisition, and everything Microsoft has got lined up in the future, we will grow as well, and we’ll get to create more opportunities for players and developers.”
Regarding Xbox Game Pass, Richards stated that Microsoft has paid over $4 billion in royalties to developers thus far, emphasizing that Xbox uses “customized approaches” and is “very transparent” with developers about “what they’re getting.” As recently as this afternoon, the publisher of last week’s Xbox Game Pass release Spirittea gushed about how the team’s Game Pass launch had been a “ridiculously good experience.”
So, despite the massive Activision Blizzard acquisition a few weeks ago, the clear takeaway here is that Xbox will not be reducing its focus on indie games, which isn’t surprising. You could argue that Xbox Game Pass thrives due to its fantastic indie selection, and we’re excited to see what else is on the way!