Self-publishing and a revamped certification process rumored
[Update:It’s official. Microsoft will allow self-publishing and “every Xbox One can be used for development,” according to Xbox corporate VP Marc Whitten.]
If Microsoft can be pressured intoreversing its always-online policiesfor Xbox One, is there any chance that the company will allow independent developers toself-publish their gameson the platform? That’s been my sincere hope.
Game Informerreports that this is the case — that Microsoft will have a system where devs can set pricing and release dates for titles and expect a 14-day turnaround for certification approvals. A huge step in the right direction, in other words.
The outlet’s sources also suggest that any Xbox One can become a debug console through a process where Microsoft authorizes the specific unit to play pre-release code. That would be remarkable if true. I want to believe Microsoft has come around and won’t be the odd man out for indies this console generation, but there are a lot of unknowns here. We’ll see.
