"Indies" will be able to create their own games, publish to the Xbox when they like, and set their own pricing, the computer giant has confirmed. Microsoft had previously said it would only allow games from recognised publishers on the new console. The Xbox One, the successor to the Xbox 360, is to be launched in November.
Announcing the policy change Marc Whiten, corporate vice president of Xbox, said: "Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox Live. This means self-publishing."
Microsoft plans to make further announcements about self-publishing in August at the Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany. The self-publishing U-turn is the first major announcement since Don Mattrick, former boss of the Xbox division, left to be head of games maker Zynga in July.
Reacting to the announcement, Will Freeman, editor of Develop, a magazine for the games developer industry, told the BBC: "This is certainly an exciting move by Microsoft and will help democratise games development. But making a game is one thing, getting it played by lots of people is another. What really matters is Microsoft's policy towards distribution."
Source: BBC News
