Last February at its big console unveiling, Sony surprised many gamers by devoting a significant portion of its presentation to indie game developers. The company kept the momentum going at E3 and now stands poised to offer new PlayStation 4 games each week until big next-gen games such as Infamous: Second Son begin to show up in March.
Microsoft’s Xbox One, in the other hand, does not seem to have the same level of indie support. Microsoft is working to fix that, however, and the company announced its [email protected] initiative back in August. The program is a self-publishing platform for indie studios to get their games on the Xbox One.
Today Microsoft announced that the [email protected] program is in full swing. Program Director Chris Charla stated that Microsoft has shipped Xbox One development kits to more than 50 studios. He also name-dropped 32 different developers that are currently enrolled in the program, including well-known studios such as Double Fine, Team 17, and Capybara Games.
The full list of confirmed studios includes Inis, Comcept, Vlambeer, Double Eleven, Slightly Mad, Born Ready, Crytek, Happion Labs, Definition 6, Team 17, Panic Button, Double Fine, Drinkbox, Team Colorblind, Signal Studios, Zen Studios, Bongfish, Half-Brick, Ninja Bee, Zeboyd Games, Nicalis, The Men Who Wear Many Hats, Iron Galaxy, Jackbox Games, High Voltage Software, Capybara Games, Behavior, Hidden Path, Gaijin, The Odd Gentlemen, WayForward, and Other Ocean.
Judging from Microsoft’s list, it appears that many of the indie games already announced for the PlayStation 4 will be ported to the Xbox One. Games such as The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Cosmic Star Heroine, Zen Pinball 2, Wasteland Kings, Project CARS, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, and Mighty No. 9 are just a few of the titles these developers are already working on for PlayStation 4 and other platforms. Now the only question remaining is when these titles could appear on the Xbox One and whether Microsoft can catch up to Sony’s early lead with indie games. Charla’s announcement stated that [email protected] games will begin to appear on the system “early next year.”
