Xbox ‘to liberate devs from update delays’

Microsoft wants to eliminate the notorious delays that Xbox game updates are subjected to, one indie developer working with the company has claimed.

Paddy Burns, the chief technology officer at 4J Studios, said Microsoft is well aware that rapid updates to games are not common, due in part to the comprehensive certification process that Microsoft implements.

Those vigorous tests are about to be streamlined, Burns said.

“Microsoft are quite keen to move towards [faster updates] – they do see it as the future,” he told Edge.

4J Studios is porting Mojang’s Minecraft title to Xbox Live. Burns believes it could be the first game that will benefit from fast, continual updates.

"I think that there will always be Microsoft testing involved, but the whole turnaround of that testing they’re hoping to speed up, so we can maybe roll out very two months.

“We’ll have to see how that goes … I’m really looking forward to it being updated with patches and new features after it’s released."

Microsoft will still verify game updates, Burns said, in line with numerous other digital platforms such as the App Store.

Develop has contacted Microsoft for comment.