Microsoft’s vision for the Xbox One seems to be going through an ever-changing transformation, even as the company has now pulled off yet another of its 180s. This time, it’s its policies for indie game developing that are in the spotlight. While it had earlier made it clear that developers not affiliated with third-party publishers or Microsoft itself won’t be able to distribute their games for the Xbox One console, it has now said that this feature has indeed been added to its plans.
Rumors were making the rounds yesterday that the company is about to reverse on this decision, but we now have confirmation on the matter, which has been received by Engadget. It has come to light that full support for self-publishing, like on Steam and the upcoming PS4, will be granted to the Xbox One. And moreover, in a move that’s bound to turn the heads of independent developers, all retail systems of the console are to double up as development kits, which means any Xbox One can be used for game development and testing purposes.
Confirming the reversal, the brand’s corporate VP, Marc Whitten, explained that the company’s ‘vision is that every person can be a creator.’ This comes after a number of indie developers had expressed disregard for the Xbox One when they had learnt about Microsoft’s decision. The big launch event that the company had held for the console featured no focus on independent developers, acting in stark contrast to Sony’s big party for the unveiling of its PS4.
Microsoft has said that more details on the Xbox One self-publishing model will be revealed by it at the upcoming Gamescom event in Germany which is to take place next month.