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Numerous independent developers have praised Microsoft for its latest tweak to the Xbox 360 operating system, which now promotes Xbox Live Indie Games to a prominent position on the dashboard.
The change comes two months after an Xbox 360 dashboard had “hidden away” the indie games marketplace.
Customers can now search through XNA-built indie games through a "top level" of the Marketplace section, Microsoft told Eurogamer in a statement.
One developer, posting on the official XBLIG forums, said the change “puts us on the same level as XBLA in terms of visibility”.
Another said: “I know we all felt a bit abandoned and shuffled away so this is a great action that says to me ‘actually, that’s really not the case’. I’m even more excited about getting to a release stage with my games now!”
It appears that the update has only been enacted on US Xbox 360s, though is expected to eventually roll-out across Europe.
"Microsoft is continually working to better organise our digital game content on the platform and your feedback played a part in that,” read a Microsoft statement.
"Part of this new organisation means that Xbox Live Indie Games now has a tile on the top level of the marketplace right next to Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Games on Demand.
"Inside of the new Xbox Live Indie Games section, you’ll notice that there are New Release, Top Download, A-Z, and Genre options, as well as a rotating carousel that shows off Kotaku’s Picks, Contest Finalists, and can be used to house other content as desired.
"This update is something we are extremely excited about as it really brings Xbox Live Indie Games to a higher level of visibility in the dashboard. We believe these changes will help even more gamers find and experience the great offerings you’ve all developed for Xbox Live Indie Games."
