GDC: Celebrating the Success of Independent Developers with ID@Xbox

GDC is always one of my favorite game industry events of the year. Because it’s really developer focused, it has a totally different energy from others. It’s always a great time for the team here at ID@Xbox to talk developers from around the world, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones, and we always take the opportunity to show off some amazing games that are coming through the program. This year at GDC, we’re highlighting more than 50 titles coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 – including the 18 new titles we announced last week – and many are coming to Xbox One as console launch exclusives, including Black Desert, Below, and Trailmakers.

As ID@Xbox heads into its fifth year, GDC is an awesome time to reflect on how far the program has come. Xbox has long been an innovator in supporting independent development – from the early days of Xbox Live Arcade to our work today. At ID@Xbox, our goal is to enable both creativity in independent development and also provide the tools and platform for creators to succeed and continue their work. With nearly 800 games released to date from 477 studios around the world, and close to 2800 studios with Xbox One dev kits in hand, we’re stoked that ID@Xbox continues to be the vibrant, global home for independent game development.

It’s not just about the volume of releases though; since 2013, gamers have spent more than 4 billion hours – more than 450,000 years of time – playing ID@Xbox games and the program has generated more than one billion dollars in revenue on Xbox and Windows 10! All of this tells us that ID@Xbox has become a proven program for independent developers to find both creative and commercial success, which is incredibly rad.

The breadth of titles we’re showing at GDC represents the massive and diverse array of content that continues to come through the ID@Xbox program, with new and different experiences for every type of player. If you’re in town, be sure to stop by the Lobby Bar at the Moscone Center where we’ll have many ID@Xbox games available to check out. It’s going to be another huge year for independent developers on Xbox, and I couldn’t be more excited for the future!