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Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer has stated a personal love for indie games, and made it clear that he sees the work of independent studios as important to diversity on the Xbox One.
Speaking to Polygon, Spencer said: "I love indie games. Personally, that’s where I’m playing a lot of games. I love the diversity of characters, stories and play styles.
"We want to make the television screen a home for more content, diversity of business model, size of content. Look at 360 and our history investing in games like Braid, Limbo, Castle Crashers and Trials. I think the team has done a nice job of identifying small indie developers and bringing those games [to Xbox]."
After the initial reveal of the Xbox One earlier this month, it was revealed by Microsoft that XBLA would not appear on the console, and that indies would not be able to self-publish on the platform, as they would require an approved partner to see their projects on the next-generation platform.
"Moving forward, I think you’re going to see more diversity in business models and price points and — most important to me — creativity," Spencer continued.
While Spencer did not explicitly detail how indies would be embraced by the Xbox One, his comments follow Microsoft Interactive Entertainment boss Don Mattrick’s insistence that the console will offer support for independent developers.
Mattrick asserted that there would be a ‘creator program’ for indies, who would also be given access to tools and other support.
