Independent Games Festival and Microsoft Partner for XBLA Prize

The organizers of the Independent Games Festival, one of the main forces behind the promotion of indie games, have announced that they have entered into a partnership with Microsoft, the video game publisher and hardware maker, to create long-term opportunities for the showcased titles.

A jury of independent game makers will work with representatives from the Xbox Live Arcade division at Microsoft and will shortlist titles for a newly created XBLA Prize.

The prize includes full game funding for the team who is creating the game, if it is needed, and a deal to publish the game on the Live Arcade service, on Windows Phone and on the Games for Windows service.

The creator of the game also has the option of not accepting the prize, although it’s not clear whether Microsoft will then award it to another video game.

The first winner of the XBLA Prize, picked from entrants into the Student Showcase and Main Competition for the IGF, will be announced at the Game Developers Conference on March 7 of next year.

Ted Woolsey, who is the leader of the first party publishing effort at Xbox Live Arcade, has stated when the announcement was made that, “Microsoft Studios invests more than $20 million dollars per year to fund Xbox LIVE Arcade games.”

Overall, the IGF offers more than 60,000 dollars (44.853 Euro) in prizes, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

The 2012 Independent Games Festival will take place from March 5 to 9 at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco, with the stated aim of promoting independent games and opening the genre up to a wider audience.

Recently both Microsoft and Sony have made efforts to attract more independent developers to the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 with more friendly approval processes and better exposure, in an effort to appeal to a larger customer base.