Sony takes a jab at Microsoft’s indie game policies

Microsoft has said it is not trying to “limit” indie developers by asking for launch parity on Xbox One and other platforms as part of its ID@Xbox program. “Our goal is not to limit developers who are interested in Xbox One,” a Microsoft spokesperson said to Edge. “In instances where games have signed a timed exclusive with another platform, we’ll work with them on a case by case basis. We encourage them to get in touch at [email protected].”

It’s been a while since we’ve seen any mud-slinging in World Console War V, but Sony took another shot tonight, going after Microsoft’s controversial console parity policy. Although many independent developers have praised Microsoft for ramping up its indie support on Xbox One with the new ID@Xbox program, some have criticized the Xbox maker for insisting on “launch parity”—in other words, games would have to launch on Xbox the same day that they go live on other platforms. Under a policy like this, an indie developer would not be able to do any sort of timed exclusive release on the Xbox’s big competitor: the PlayStation 4.