Developers using Xbox Live Indie Games are still waiting on payments from September 30.
Microsoft acknowledged yesterday its failure to pay developers participating in the Xbox Live Indie Games program on Xbox 360. The company apologized and expects developers will be paid within the coming two weeks. This is not affecting developers in the ID@Xbox program on Xbox One.
According to Microsoft, the delay is due to a “technical issue” in its payment system. Payment to developers in the Xbox Live Indie Games program is due within 45 days of the end of the quarter, according to Freelance Games, the developer of Trailer Park King.
The third quarter ended September 30, and Microsoft was supposed to deliver payment by November 15. By the time Microsoft now expects developers will receive payment, two and a half months will have passed since the end of the quarter.
However, Microsoft appears to pay Xbox Live Indie Games developers late with some frequency. On November 27 Ian Campbell, developer of Bleed, noted on Twitter he had not yet received his payment from Microsoft for the quarter and it was about a week later than usual. Other developers told Gamasutra late payments are such a common occurrence that some people didn’t even notice the payments were late.
Xbox Live Indie Games has faded as a popular choice for developers; however, Microsoft now has its own ID@Xbox program for independent developers seeking to publish on the Xbox One. Xbox Live Indie Games was a self-publishing arm where games would pass a peer review before it could be sold on the Xbox 360.
The Escapist has contacted Microsoft for further comment and will update if we hear more.
Source: ID@Xbox (Twitter)
