Don't plan on being able to self-publish on Xbox One

Microsoft has all but completely failed to acknowledge independent development in the course of unveiling its new console yesterday, the Xbox One. But what it has said isn't too inspiring. Speaking with ShackNews, Microsoft's general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms, Matt Booty, confirmed that developers can't go solo on the new console. "We intend to continue to court developers in the ways that we have," says Booty, meaning that Microsoft will continue to require game developers to submit through a publisher, as they have in the existing Xbox Live. However, Booty adds that Microsoft will "continue to explore new business models and new ways of surfacing content." As previously reported, Microsoft is consolidating Xbox Live Arcade and Indie Games into the same catalog for the Xbone. Sony, meanwhile, has recently opened a dedicated section for indie games in its counterpart online store.