Microsoft noted in a report today that in the nine years since the launch of the ID@Xbox Indie Developer Program in 2013, indie game creators have collectively earned more than $2.5 billion. And in the last three years, the developer's royalties and total revenue have almost doubled.
Microsoft also said that Game Pass licensing fees have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to developers and publishers. Game Pass is another way to help encourage Xbox players to discover new genres and games. After player subscriptions, the types of games played by regular members increased by 30%, and the number of games played increased by 40%, most of which were not in the Game Pass range.
In addition to that, Microsoft has been investing heavily in marketing and sales programs to ensure that Xbox players can find more than 3,000 indie games on Xbox anywhere.
Chris Charla, the company's general manager of content management and programs, said the team is very proud that more than 4,600 developers from 94 countries around the world want to provide players with the game experience through Xbox, including more than 1,000 developers who have registered ID@Xbox projects in the past two years.
At the GDC conference, Microsoft also launched a new program ID@Azure, which was born based on feedback from developers. It will be led by Nick Ferguson, a veteran member of the ID@Xbox team in 2013, and the program is for developers on any platform that wants to use Microsoft's cloud gaming services in their games, including iOS, Android, Switch, PlayStation, PC, and Xbox.
