Microsoft launched a program known as ID@Xbox at Gamescom 2013, the program supports Indie Developers for Xbox One. Microsoft has been quite about the program since its announcement but looks like the manufacturer was getting ready in silence. Microsoft has announced a list of confirmed Xbox One developers who would be developing and creating games for the console under ID@Xbox program.
Microsoft Reveals First Batch Of ID@Xbox Indie Developers – Thousands Of Developers Turn Towards Xbox One
With the start of new generation in gaming industry, new doors are opened for independent developers and now the opportunities for becoming a developer are more than ever. After Ouya’s great support for indie developers, Sony made great efforts to draw indie developers towards PlayStation 4 and promote the console with creative, small budget titles. Microsoft has also launched a dedicated program known as ID@Xbox for indie developers.
Microsoft has announced the first batch of Xbox One developers who would self-publish games for Xbox One under Microsoft ID@Xbox program. The program director Chris Charla claims that thousands of developers have shown interest in ID@Xbox and Microsoft has already shipped the development kits to 50 companies. Chris wrote in an Xbox Newswire release:
"At ID@Xbox, we're as happy as anyone that Xbox One has shipped, but we still have our game faces on because there's still a lot for us to do. We've had thousands of developers express interest in ID@Xbox and we continue to make some big strides to lower the barriers for independent developers to self-publish on Xbox One.”
"Unity will be free to Xbox One developers, we're continuing to hold developer events (ID@London is next week) and we're also working behind the scenes to set up the system that will enable any retail Xbox One to serve as a dev kit.”
“We've shipped dev kits to more than 50 studios and, as we said at gamescom, this first wave of developers is just the start. We want to make Xbox One a great platform for developers of all scales and sizes for years to come. We’ve been amazed at the response from developers to ID@Xbox, and we really appreciate their patience as we ramp up the program.”
Below is the list of confirmed Xbox One developers along with some of their famous games. The developers would work individually under ID@Xbox program to self-publish games for Xbox One.
- iNiS (Lips, Elite Beat Agents, Gitaroo Man)
- Comcept (Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, Soul Sacrifice)
- Vlambeer (Serious Sam, Ridiculous Fishing)
- Double Eleven (LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, PixelJunk Shooter)
- Slightly Mad Studios (Need for Speed: Shift, Project Cars)
- Born Ready (Strike Suit Zero) - Crytek (Crysis, Ryse: Son of Rome)
- Happion Labs (Sixty Second Shooter) - Team 17 (Worms, Alien Breed)
- Panic Button (Kinect Star Wars, Injustice: Gods Among Us)
- Double Fine (Brutal Legend, Psychonauts)
- Drinkbox (About a Blob, Guacamelee)
- Team Colorblind (Aztez)
- Signal Studios (Ascend: New Gods, Toy Soldiers)
- Zen Studios (Castlestorm, Marvel Pinball)
- Bongfish (Motocross Madness, Harm's Way)
- Half-Brick Studios (Fruit Ninja Kinect, Raskulls)
- NinjaBee (A Kingdom for Keflings, Dash of Destruction)
- Zeboyd Games (Cthulhu Saves the World, Penny Arcade Adventures)
- Nicalis (Cave Story, VVVVVV)
- The Men Who Wear Many Hats (Organ Trail, Max Gentlemen)
- Iron Galaxy (Divekick, Wreckateer)
- Jackbox Games (You Don't Know Jack)
- High Voltage Software (The Conduit, Kinect Star Wars)
- Capybara Games (Below, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes)
- Behaviour Interactive (Naughty Bear, MySims SkyHeroes)
- Hidden Path (Defense Grid: The Awakening, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
- Gaijin Games (Bit.Trip series) - The Odd Gentlemen (The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, Slap Happy Sam)
- WayForward (Adventure Time: ETDBIDK, DuckTales: Remastered)
- Other Ocean (Iron Brigade, Stacking)
Microsoft has plans to support any indie developer who turn up to ID@Xbox and according to Chris, huge number of developers is showing interest in developing with Xbox One. The list above is only the beginning, it comprises of only the first batch of the developers and Microsoft will continue to introduce and support more indie developers. According to Chris:
“We want to make Xbox One a great platform for developers of all scales and sizes for years to come. We’ve been amazed at the response from developers to ID@Xbox, and we really appreciate their patience as we ramp up the program.”
“Best of all, the list above is far from comprehensive. It’s just a first selection of the hugely diverse complement of developers who are working on bringing games to Xbox One via ID@Xbox beginning early next year. We’re working closely with developers to bring a wide selection of innovative titles to Xbox One and look forward to sharing more soon.”
ID@Xbox would be available free of cost to the developers and the confirmed developers would or have received two free Xbox One development kits. Microsoft is giving power to the developers and it seems like developers are very delighted with ID@Xbox. Xbox One indie developers would be able to utilize all capabilities of the console, including cloud services, Kinect, Xbox Love toolset such as Xbox SmartGlass, multiplayer, achievements, Gamerscore and more. One of the developers, Iron Galaxy is bringing Divekick to the Xbox One, below are his thoughts on ID@Xbox.
“All developers care about is being able to make the games they want and get them into the hands of as many people as possible. Now, thanks to ID@Xbox, Iron Galaxy can bring Divekick to a Microsoft platform for the first time. We've been working on Xbox One games for a while now, and because of that you can bet Divekick will take advantage of all the platform's unique capabilities.”
