Posted on July 24, 2013, Ross Lincoln Xbox One Will Let Indie Devs Self-Publish

Microsoft has finally backed down on one of its new console’s most baffling problems with the welcome news that Xbox One will allow indie developers to self-publish.

The rumor, which was first reported today by Game Informer, has now been confirmed. In a statement received by Game Front, Microsoft had this to say:

Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox LIVE. This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discoverability on Xbox LIVE. We’ll have more details on the program and the timeline at gamescom in August.

As originally conceived, Xbox One would have banned any developer without the backing of a major publisher from selling a game digitally on Xbox Live. This policy was a continuation of Xbox 360 restrictions, but with the growing number of indie titles, the restriction would have shut out hundreds of great games from a potentially vast audience. This restriction was particularly unpopular after it was confirmed that Playstation 4 would allow self-publication.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Microsoft reversal if there wasn’t a catch. It’s been confirmed that the dev kit functionality won’t be available at launch