Microsoft has not paid indie developers for any games during Q3 of 2014. This means that the profit cut that devs would usually receive from any sales through the Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace, for the months of July through September, have not been passed to them yet.
Microsoft has apologized saying:
Enclosed is an official statement and apology from Microsoft on the Xbox Live Indie Games for Xbox 360 payment issue pic.twitter.com/FJJ2hqqffG
— ID@Xbox (@ID_Xbox) December 3, 2014
This is not the first time
The XBLIG system is Microsoft’s own self-publishing arm. It has a lower barrier of entry than the Xbox Live Arcade system. Developers in this system receive their payments quarterly. Payment should happen on the last weekday of that quarter. There is, however, a clause in the system which states that payment is not considered late until beyond 45 days of the specified date. For Q3 that date was September 30th. User TheKotu on the Destructoid forums states that:
Previously they managed to go over that date by 7 days, meaning from the date developers were meant to be paid, it was 52 days after the stated payment date.
A few developers have taken to Twitter to express their unhappiness.
Freeland Games, makers of the Trailer Park King series, says:
Understandably Freelance Games is not happy.
And BootDisk Revolution the developer of Bleed, says:
It’s not just console, but mobile developers too
Again on the Destructoid forums, the same user, TheKotu, states that an anonymous Windows Phone app developer contacted him. TheKotu trusts this source, who says that the sales and analytics data being sent to them is 11 days behind, and is getting worse. The source says a 2 to 3 day delay would be expected, but 11 days is too much. Mobile developers receive their payment weekly, instead of quarterly.
Microsoft intends to have this issue sorted within the next two weeks, and indie developers will receive payment for Q3 of 2014 during this time.
