Microsoft won't let indies self-publish on Xbox One

In contrast to Sony with its PlayStation Store, Nintendo with its eShop and Valve with Steam, Microsoft won't let independent developers self-publish on Xbox One.

Instead, they must seek a publishing deal either with Microsoft itself or a third-party - as is the case with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade currently.

When Shacknews asked if developers would still need a publisher to get content onto Xbox Live, Matt Booty, general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms, said: "As of right now, yes. We intend to continue to court developers in the ways that we have."

He added: "I would also expect that for this new generation, that we're going to continue to explore new business models and new ways of surfacing content. But Microsoft Studios is a publisher that works with a wide range of partners, as do a lot of other people, to bring digital content to the box."

Microsoft's decision may make it much harder for indie games to appear on Xbox One than the PS4, Wii U and Steam, and it has already been questioned by developers. "Oh dear," wrote Thomas Was Alone designer Mike Bithell on Twitter. "So it looks like you won't be seeing #project2 on your Xbox One..."

And this, from Toki Tori 2 developer Two Tribes, also on Twitter: "No self publishing on Xbox One probably means no Two Tribes games. This was really a chance for Microsoft to fix the broken XBLA setup. :("

Just Add Water's Stranger's Wrath HD was one high-profile game that failed to release on Xbox 360 because of Microsoft's strict rules.

Sony in particular has made a strong indie game push in recent months. Two weeks ago it launched an indie game category on the PlayStation Store. Before that it secured the release of a number of eye-catching indie games for PlayStation, including Luftrausers, Hotline Miami and the aforementioned Thomas Was Alone. Eurogamer's Jeffrey Matulef investigated the Japanese company's new-found love of all things indie in a feature published last month.