Microsoft confirms axing of XBLA developer update fees
Microsoft has confirmed an earlier report that it has waived fees for title updates on Xbox Live Arcade titles, long considered an indie-unfriendly policy.
Xbox Live corporate vice president Marc Whitten confirmed the news on Twitter:
"FYI Microsoft eliminated fees for Title Updates on Xbox 360 Arcade games in April 2013," he said in response to Polygon.
As one of the site's contributors quite reasonably pointed out, multiple publications asked Microsoft about this policy change when rumours of it broke in April this year, but received no response.
Thew news was later confirmed again by Microsoft's Larry Hryb.
Previously, Microsoft charged developers a hefty certification fee each time they submitted a patch for a game, which soon becomes too expensive for smaller companies, or frequently updated genres like MMOs. According the reports, there will now be only one charge except in cases of excessive resubmission.
In the wake of Sony and Nintendo's continued efforts to woo indies, Microsoft has attracted plenty of negative attention overs its attitude towards smaller developers; Dave spoke to several indies recently who certainly seemed dissatisfied with the platform holder's policies, although there are strident supporters.