Dev pulls game from Ouya in Free the Games Fund protest

Indie developer Sophie Houlden has withdrawn her game Rose and Time from Ouya’s digital marketplace.

Houlden says the decision is a result of Ouya’s response to the ongoing Free the Games Fund controversy, which this morning drew criticism from many developers.

I’ve been stewing on this for a while, and made the decision this morning,” she wrote on her blog. The reason is not because of any flaw of the console (I love it), or the game (the Ouya version may even be the best), or sales (I average 1 sale per day, way more than elsewhere). The reason is because I am no longer comfortable supporting the Ouya company.

It’s not that they put out a tasteless advert, it’s not that the Free The Games Fund is a poor way of investing in interesting developers, it’s not that they shun the very developers they claim to want, it’s not that they support people using the fund that are clearly scammers.

It’s their inability to admit that they have fucked up. Shit is blowing up on all sides, every single piece of PR that is put out damages Ouya’s reputation more, and the plastic-marketing-smile never seems to come off. They never get serious to deal with stuff. They never change course when things are going down the toilet. They try to have this image of an indie, but it’s only an image.

I have tried (desperately) to tell people that the console is good, well worth $100 and that there are some great games on there, that the policy of letting anyone publish on the console for free is amazing and a big step forward… but Ouya are making me look stupid for supporting them. And I don’t like being made to look stupid.

After reading Julie Uhrman’s blog post last night it became very apparent to me that the company does not support indie developers who need the support most, and that they are incapable of ever correcting their mistakes. I’m simply no longer comfortable supporting the company.”

Houlden adds that she will continue to make the game available for those who have previously purchased it via Ouya’s service.