This is all so weird. But hey, self publishing could finally be a reality on XB1! Woooooo!
http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/24/4553946/microsoft-details-xbox-one-indie-self-publishing
UPDATE: turning an Xbox One into a devkit will not be available at launch, nor will self publishing.
UPDATE 2: The marketplace might be open for everyone, ie be a haven for literally anyone to develop like iOS and XBLIG.
UPDATE 3: MS says this was their vision all along. Which is interesting given what Mario has to say-
The original leak this morning by Game Informer: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...elf-publishing-new-certification-process.aspx
This was supposed to be a big GamesCom reveal according to Patrick Klepek before it leaked on GI.com.
The fact that they've sat on this news for weeks, and will still sit on it until GamesCom, is crazy to me.
Still, early details are very promising. Access to cloud and achievements sounds like a step above XBLIG already. Whether it's going to be a full XB1 service for indies or a Windows App like program for all their App marketplaces, well, we'll see.
http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/24/4553946/microsoft-details-xbox-one-indie-self-publishing
Microsoft has confirmed its plans to have an indie games service, adding that additional details would be coming at Gamescom in August.
"Our vision is that every person can be a creator," Marc Whitten, corporate vice president at Xbox said in a statement. "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. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discoverability on Xbox LIVE. We'll have more details on the program and the timeline at gamescom in August."
UPDATE: turning an Xbox One into a devkit will not be available at launch, nor will self publishing.
Kotaku said:Microsoft's Marc Whitten just told us that devkit functionality will be added at a later date.
Xbox One self-publishing won't be ready at launch, but will hit within the first year we're told sbn.to/18AdPca via @Polygon
UPDATE 2: The marketplace might be open for everyone, ie be a haven for literally anyone to develop like iOS and XBLIG.
While Microsoft's plans are certainly ambitious, with everyone being able to self-publish games, there is a real threat that Xbox Live can become as cluttered as the app stores on iOS and Android today--especially because there won't be any segregation between retail, downloadable, and indie games on the Marketplace. Whitten says that surfacing will be the big challenge for Microsoft. "I still believe strongly in curation, and that means how do we present users with the content that's most relevant to them?"
UPDATE 3: MS says this was their vision all along. Which is interesting given what Mario has to say-
A few months ago this was not being planned by them internally, and they explicitly said it wasn't going to be possible (and that was the clear message behind closed doors). There were even factions within Microsoft aware of the stupidity of the situation who were proactively looking for loopholes to effectively allow self publishing in a practical sense even if it wasn't technically the case.
This is a change in policy and strategy from earlier in the year, and the fact it isn't going to be ready at launch is evidence that this change is recent.
Great news for independent developers and publishers in any case. Looking forward to hearing more because the devil is in the details.
The original leak this morning by Game Informer: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...elf-publishing-new-certification-process.aspx
This was supposed to be a big GamesCom reveal according to Patrick Klepek before it leaked on GI.com.
The fact that they've sat on this news for weeks, and will still sit on it until GamesCom, is crazy to me.
Still, early details are very promising. Access to cloud and achievements sounds like a step above XBLIG already. Whether it's going to be a full XB1 service for indies or a Windows App like program for all their App marketplaces, well, we'll see.