Microsoft’s indie parity clause is flexible, designed to make Xbox One owners feel ‘first class’

The policy which demands that indie games for Xbox One do not arrive on other platforms first isn’t concrete.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has told the Inner Circle podcast, as reported by Eurogamer, that developers whose resources don’t stretch to making games for assorted platforms simultaneously can often be accommodated.

"I get that for some guys they just can’t afford the time to get [all versions] done," Spencer said. "So I [have been] just saying ‘let’s have a conversation’, and it’s worked. Today, I think we’ve done a good job working with the indies when they have had strict parity concerns if it’s just a dev issue for them."

However, it seems that a developer’s attitude toward the Xbox platform is an influencing factor.

"I don’t want somebody to come in and just think ‘I’m going to go do a special game on one platform and then I’ll get to Xbox whenever I get to it’,” Spencer added. I don’t think that’s right. As Xbox one customers we want good games as they come out on both platforms.”

Another issue is that Spencer wants Xbox One owners to feel special: The thing I worry about is I look at all the people who buy an Xbox and invest their time and money in Xbox One. Millions of people own Xbox One and I want those people to feel like they’re first class, because they are.

"For me the parity thing is, if you own Xbox One I want to work for you to make sure that when great content launches, if it’s coming to Xbox One and another platform, you get it at the same time as everybody else does.”