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ID@Xbox has generated over $2.5 billion in revenue for indie developers (Windows Central)+ (Xbox Wire) Celebrating Nine Years of ID@Xbox

kingfey

Banned

Microsoft shared a recap of the ID@Xbox program's history on Thursday, with some major milestones and updates on how far the program has come since its launch in 2013.

According to Microsoft (via Xbox Wire), the ID@Xbox program has paid out over $2.5 billion in revenue for indie developers since its creation. The last milestone for the program was $500 million paid out back in 2017, meaning an additional $2 billion was paid in the last five years.

Other interesting stats include how the program now encompasses over 4,600 developers across 94 countries. Microsoft has also seen success with some ID@Xbox games launching directly into Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft claims that the average Xbox Game Pass subscriber plays 40% more games compared to someone that isn't subscribed. Microsoft's recent ID@Xbox showcase highlighted some of the recent games coming through the program, including Shredders, Tunic and Trek to Yomi.

Microsoft is expanding support for indie developers through the recently announced ID@Azure program, allowing developers across multiple platforms to utilize cloud technology.


When we started the ID@Xbox program (almost nine years ago!), we really didn’t know much. We knew that independent developers were driving the pace of video game innovation faster than we’d ever seen, and we knew the work they were doing was incredibly progressive and important. We also knew that our players on Xbox loved the artistry and diversity delivered by these developers, and that to make sure our players got the best, most diverse array of games possible, we had to do everything we could to help developers maximize their success on the Xbox ecosystem.

So, we did a lot of listening – directly learning from developers what they wanted, and what they needed. They were never shy about telling us what worked, and what didn’t. Innovations like cross-play across other consoles, for example, came directly from ID@Xbox partners. Stemming from their feedback and requests, we made a lot of changes to our back-end publishing systems and even our app framework. These changes may seem mundane but are really important as we seek to enable independent developers to ship their game easily across Xbox and PC.

The results have exceeded our wildest dreams. Since the program’s inception, independent developers have earned more than $2.5 billion in royalties and total revenue generated by ID@Xbox partners on Xbox almost doubled over the last three years. These are staggering numbers, and it speaks to the power of independent developers.

We’ve also paid developers and publishers across Xbox hundreds of millions of dollars in Game Pass license fees. There are amazing games out today on Xbox (and other platforms!) that would never have existed without the support of Game Pass members, and that’s really been an incredible phenomenon. Ensuring that millions of Game Pass members get to experience some of the best independent games ever created has been transformational for Xbox players and developers.

Escape-Academy_3840x2160.jpg

We know talent is universal, and supporting developers of all sizes, from start-up, single-person studios to veteran indies with multiple successful games in the market is crucial. We’re proud that more than 4,600 developers from 94 countries worldwide are looking to deliver experiences to players via Xbox, including more than 1,000 creators who signed up to the ID@Xbox program over the last two years.

Even with over 3,000 games from independent developers on Xbox, we still have a long way to go. One area we talk to developers and players about a lot is “discoverability.” Teams across Microsoft work every day to help solve discovery challenges so players can find games they love, and in turn, ensure developers find the audience for their games. Whether it’s helping announce games like WrestleQuest or Escape Academy to millions of viewers in a /ID@Xbox Showcase with /twitchgaming, providing opportunities for creators to highlight their games on Xbox channels or including their titles in themed sales and promotion, we’re always looking for ways to connect creators with new audiences.

Game Pass is another avenue that helps encourage Xbox players to discover new genres and games. After joining, the average member plays 30% more genres and plays 40% more games, with a majority of those games being outside of Game Pass.

Beyond that, we’re investing a lot in marketing and merchandising programs all the time to ensure that Xbox players anywhere discover the more than 3,000 independent titles available on Xbox.

WrestleQuest_1920x1080.jpg

This GDC, Microsoft also introduced a new program that was born out of feedback from developers – ID@Azure. It’s led by Nick Ferguson, Director of ID@Azure, (who was an original ID@Xbox team member back in 2013, when we were just a virtual team with an idea), and it’s for developers on any platform, from iOS and Android to Switch, PlayStation, and PC (and Xbox, of course!) who want to use Microsoft’s cloud gaming services in their games. If you’re a developer, please check it out at http://www.azure.com/id

Nine years ago, we made a promise to independent developers that we’d work as hard as we could on their behalf, because we knew Xbox players would be stoked to support their work. We don’t by any means consider that promise fulfilled, because we see our work as an ongoing commitment from Xbox to independent developers. But through ID@Xbox, the launch of ID@Azure, our work with Game Pass and beyond to help developers bring their games to Xbox, and with the community response to the amazing games we’re seeing come to the platform, we feel we’re making progress in the right direction.
 

kingfey

Banned
I have no idea how much revenue I have generated for my local Chinese takeout over the last nine years, but it's been a lot. "lollipop_disappointed:
You sir are helping your community business. Much better than buying fast food. Keep supporting them. Dont be sad.
 
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Awesome work for the industry across all segments; indies, small studios, gamers etc. Interesting extension of the ID@ program to Azure, I'm curious what that will bring with more creative indie titles and risk taking over say AAA by the numbers. A wonderful infrastructure for Gamepass too.
 
Positive news keeps coming out of MS initiatives. Glad to hear the program is successful and is providing a way for indie developers to see their ideas realized and be compensated as well.
Lol don’t worry I’m sure the negative spin on this now that you’ve said it’s a positive Microsoft news will be coming cause god forbid!
 
Well, that is a lot of money. But I can see this still being on more famous games like cuphead, and many others that are considered AAA-tier indie games. Not much for the other poor bastards' XD (I am the same so....you cannot complain), but I do not publish on X-Box (yet), due to $$$ of devkits and making a good game.

Anyway for those indie developers:

We Did It Win GIF by HBO Max
 
$2.5B in revenue is decent... but over nine years, across many dev studios, it starts to not look like all that much.

I bet the top 20% got most of that and the rest were competing for scraps (like on every other platform).
 
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