Indie developers say they’re ‘worried Xbox’s Activison deal could harm them’
A number of indie developers have said they’re concerned that Xbox‘s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard may make it harder for them to get noticed.
A new report by the BBC investigates whether the continued growth of Xbox Game Pass means any smaller indie titles not included as part of the service could fall by the wayside.
And with all of Activision Blizzard’s studios set to join the Xbox Game Studios family, indie developers are worried that Xbox may eventually be able to release a continuous stream of high-profile titles that will dominate the Game Pass library.
One indie developer sharing her concerns in the article is Tanya Short, who created the critically acclaimed Boyfriend Dungeon (which is currently on Game Pass).
Short said that most indie studios currently avoid launching games during the run-up to Christmas because they don’t want to compete with ‘triple A’ titles, but that this may no longer be a useful strategy.
“This Activision acquisition strikes fear in us because it makes it so much more obvious – maybe they could dominate the rest of the year and then what do we do?” she said.
The BBC says Short is “one of a number of indie game developers” who have told it they’re worried about what Microsoft‘s Activision Blizzard deal could mean for the industry.
It also cites Sad Cat Studios founder and game director Yura Zhadanovich, who’s working on cyberpunk adventure game Replaced, which will also launch on Game Pass.
Zhadanovich reportedly had praise for the way Microsoft has been dealing with his studio, but maintained concerns about whether there would continue to be enough support for indie developers as more high-profile titles are added to Game Pass.
The concern is shared by Ampere Analysis analyst Piers
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