Microsoft Stops Charging Devs for Xbox 360 Patches

[Jason]

Microsoft has reportedly stopped charging developers to update their Xbox 360 games, according to a number of sources.

Eurogamer reports that multiple developers have said Microsoft is no longer making them pay tens of thousands of dollars to patch their titles.

Until recently, Microsoft made developers pay when submitting games for certification but would then offer one title update free of charge, before making them pay for any further re-certification. This is apparently no longer the case for both Xbox Live Arcade games and full retail games.

The fee was originally introduced to try and discourage developers from releasing unfinished products that would require lots of updates. While Microsoft still reserves the right to charge any company deemed to be making excessive requests following a failed certification, the new normal is that no fees will be charged.

While this is a good move in and of itself, could this mark the beginning of a shift in Microsoft's attitudes to indie developers? Until now the company has taken a fair bit of flack from the likes of Fez developer Phil Fish and the creators of Oddworld and DayZ, who have all said that the prohibitive costs associated with patching games is one of the reasons they're keen to work with Sony on the PlayStation 4, but not Microsoft.

If Microsoft is prepared to ditch this process, perhaps it's also prepared to allow indies to self-publish somewhere down the line? As it currently stands the company has said it intends to keep things the same for the Xbox One but with all the other changes that have hit the upcoming console in the last couple of weeks, could another one be coming soon?

Source: IGN.com