14 DAY TRIAL // Tim Schafer, the leader of the development team at Double Fine, says that Sony has been very open about indie titles when it comes to its upcoming PlayStation 4 home console, while Microsoft has other priorities at the moment.
The developer tells Edge that, “Sony has reached out to us and asked us our opinions about what we’d like to see with new platforms and they’ve been really good with indies – allowing them self-publish and entering into partnerships and stuff like that.”
During its PlayStation 4 reveal event, the company used Jonathan Blow to show that it wanted smaller teams to launch innovative projects for its new device.
Schafer adds, “Microsoft has been focused elsewhere up until now, I’ve kind of had my fingers crossed that hopefully they’ll change their minds about that because I think it’s really critical.”
A number of developers have criticized the Xbox One because the new console does not allow for self-publishing.
Indie game makers are also worried that rising costs for the development process might leave them unable to stay afloat in the future.
During its own reveal event, Microsoft focused on entertainment and on big game franchises, like Madden NFL and Call of Duty: Ghosts.
At the moment, Double Fine is working on its Broken Age classic adventure game, which has been funded via Kickstarter and should be out in 2014.
Another team at the studio is also seeking fan backing for the newly revealed Massive Chalice, which will mix turn-based battles with a fantasy setting.
Double Fine is at the moment focused on creating video games for the PC and for mobile devices and it has announced no projects for the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One.
Next-generation devices from both Sony and Microsoft will be launched before the end of 2013.