We spoke to Microsoft’s Agostino Simonetta about bringing independent games to the platform, the power of Xbox Game Pass and the importance of Xbox Series S.
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass has had a seismic impact on the video game industry. It’s been the driving force behind the early success of the Xbox Series X, and made the more affordable Xbox Series S a tempting proposition for those looking to enter the Xbox ecosystem for the very first time. But even though the value proposition Xbox Game Pass has been well documented, Microsoft’s subscription service has also provided a terrific platform for independent developers to shine – one that feels like a match made in heaven. We spoke to “Ago” Agostino Simonetta, director of the ID@Xbox global partnership team, about how Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program has helped bring more independent games to the Xbox platform, the power of Xbox Game Pass, and the importance of Microsoft’s more affordable new current-gen console, the Xbox Series S. Independent games have continued to rise in prominence since the Xbox 360, which was a platform that Ago admits was “super close to the development community”. From the popular Summer of Arcade event, which used to celebrate and highlight a selection of exciting new titles, to the Xbox Live Indie Games initiative, Microsoft made great strides in championing independent developers. But when it came to Xbox One, Ago conceded that Microsoft lost its way a little. “I think at one point, the evolution of the program kind of froze for a bit. There was a moment of freezing…and not being perfectly in line with the market and where it was going. ID@Xbox was the answer.” The ID@Xbox program was Microsoft’s big push to bring independent developers back to the Xbox platform, and was designed to reflect how the market had evolved. As Ago explained, “…we were ready to go to the next level and effectively open up [Xbox] to [developers] to completely self publish.” He also admitted that due to how the labelling of independent games has changed, and how they are perceived among gamers, it’s unlikely that a Summer of Arcade-style event will return. “Now we have hundreds of millions of people, billions of people – they’re more than comfortable engaging with independent titles, right. So I think as much as I missed those [Summer of Arcade] days…we need to have a new outlook in terms of how we promote content, how we distribute content… the Summer of Arcade was a very important milestone in the evolution. But I think the market is very different today.” And he’s not wrong. Independent games now garner the same type of respect, excitement and commercial success that was previously only available to the annual blockbuster titles that are typically developed by hundreds of people and backed by the biggest publishers in the world.
