GAMING

XBOX ONE INDIE PROGRAM NOW INCLUDE PROJECTS FROM LIMBO, CRUSH, AND TONY HAWK DEVS

Microsoft’s ID@Xbox program continues to grow, with the company revealing in a new Xbox Wire post a diverse assortment of indie developers now signed up to create content for the Xbox One. You’ll see a whole bunch of familiar names on the list, which includes more than 60 different studios with varying degrees of experience. The Behemoth is perhaps best-known for its one-time Xbox 360 exclusive brawler Castle Crashers (later released for other platforms). Playdead is the team behind Limbo. Zoe Mode created the inventive PlayStation Portable/Nintendo 3DS platform-puzzler Crush. Robomodo worked on several latter-day Tony Hawk titles, including the most recent, an HD re-release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

There are plenty of other familiar names as well. Just run down the list and search out each one, and you’ll see big teams, tiny teams, and virtually everything in between. This is only the latest ID@Xbox reveal for Microsoft. A December update confirmed that more than 30 different studios are working on Xbox One content, including Crytek and Double Fine. Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer revealed a month later that a new Worms game from Team17 and Ninjabee’s Nutjitsu will be among the first ID@Xbox releases. Sure, some of these games actually have to come out before we get too excited, but there continues to be lots of promise in Microsoft’s under-explored, under-discussed indie publishing initiative.