In the past Microsoft has gotten a lot of grief from developers over the monetary charge that they are forced to pay when releasing a patch. According to IGN, some developers are reporting that Microsoft is no longer charging for updates.
This potential claim comes off the heels of several indie developers, most notably the infamous Phil Fish mastermind of indie hit Fez, more or less saying that there is no way in hell he’d work with Microsoft again due to the intense charge to patch, which he said is in the neighborhood of $10,000.
This does, however, still leave the problem of self-publishing open. Indie developers have been unable to self-publish on the Xbox360 (and so far the policy stands on the Xbox One), which makes it complicated and more expensive for a small company to get to where they need to be. This is something Sony has made very clear is doable with the PS4, and they have gotten infinite praise as a result.
So what do you think? Do you think this little policy shift will win back the favors of some of the more prominent indie developers that have migrated to the new PlayStation? Or do you think it’s a pandering last resort made by a company that may be slipping come holiday season? Sound off in the comments down below and maybe we can program a game together and self publish it on the PS4, then complain about how we can’t on the Xbox One (for now)!
