In what is deemed by many to be an important step when it comes to encouraging small game development, word has it that Microsoft has decided to end its policy of charging developers plenty of money (to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars, it seems), to roll out patches for their game. This has been deemed by many to be an antiquated policy which was in place beforehand in order to reinforce the idea that by forking out plenty of dough, developers will then only submit important, well-tested patches, but more often than not, this ends up on the flipside – it prevents patches from being released, at all.
There is no word on whether this particular policy would be extended to the recently revealed Xbox One, it could very well set off the right precedent. Microsoft, of course, continues to maintain their position of strength by holding on to the ability to charge fees should a developer decide to take advantage of the system, while resubmitting a patch which does not happen to meet certification standards – not once, twice, but multiple times.
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