14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just released a formal set of rules regarding the monetization of Let's Play videos and livestreamed video games content.
Gamers who capture game footage on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 home consoles are allowed to make money from ads from that content as long as they do so via YouTube and Twitch and adhere to a couple of ground rules.
The entire ruleset is available on the Xbox website for everyone to see, and if you're considering taking up or are already involved in such activities, you would do well to give them a read, as the company has enforced certain limitations on the way the content can be utilized.
Microsoft is joining the surging trend of companies making their positions clear when it comes to what users can and cannot do with their content, in order to prevent further issues when it comes to copyright claims.
Nintendo, for instance, laid claim to all advertising revenue on its content back in 2013, but eventually started an authorized affiliate program, splitting ad revenue three ways, between the content owner, content creator, and Google, as most videos were made available through YouTube.
Some users initially saw this as a very backwards move from the Big N and renounced making videos altogether until the new program was instated.
Microsoft's policy
The highlights of the rules that Microsoft has revealed are that you can't monetize game content outside of YouTube and Twitch, meaning that you won't be able to use it in paid apps or commercial films, and you won't be able to sign your creations over to exclusive distribution deals.
Furthermore, users aren't allowed to reverse-engineer video game assets and must make it clear to viewers that they are not viewing an official product.
Creators must also include a copyright notice, which will be supplied by Microsoft, and they have to take care of third-party licenses (such as those on music and sound effects) themselves.
One other point of note is that Microsoft won't allow gamers to use video game content if the resulting product promotes discrimination, hate crimes or crimes against humanity, or is of an obscene of otherwise questionable nature.
However, be advised that Minecraft has a different set of rules in place when it comes to the monetization of gamer-created content, available on the Mojang website.