Indie game developers planning to develop games for Microsoft's Xbox One initiallly got a bit of bad news but then the software giant clarified its intentions regarding the plans to allow consoles to function as development platforms.
Developers accepted into Microsoft's ID@Xbox program have been allowed to publish content directly to Xbox' digital marketplace. Though users have discovered a development console inside of Xbox One, Microsoft apparently wasn't willing to give developers the keys to the platform.
Martin Fuller, of Xbox Advanced Technology Group, ignited uproar when he said he wasn't aware of any plans that involved Microsoft allowing retail kits to be used as development platforms.
"We were in the early stages of Xbox One looking at the idea of a retail kit that could be turned into a development kit, and vice versa," Fuller said. "In the end, although that was a very admirable goal, it hasn't happened unfortunately. Can't tell you the specifics of exactly why not."
A few hours after Fuller's comments, a Microsoft spokesperson released a statement to clarify the company's position on the subject of allowing development on its retail console.
"The comments today were inaccurate," the spokesperson said. "We remain committed to ensuring the best possible solution for developers and hobbyists to create games for Xbox One. We will share more details at a later date."
Marc Whitten, previous corporate vice president at Xbox, promised to release more details in late 2013 about opening up the development capabilities of the retail version of Xbox One.
"Our vision is that every person can be a creator," Whitten said. "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."
With the price of Sony's PS4 developer's kit sitting somewhere around $2,500, the release of a retail Xbox one that could be used as a developer's kit would soften one of the barriers of entry for indie developers - the Xbox One, without the Kinect accessory, has dropped to $399.
Currently, Microsoft loans out a pair of Xbox One development kits to developers who have been accepted into the company's ID@Xbox program.
