The Xbox Live Creators Program is now open to everyone and anyone can publish their games for free

Microsoft has announced that the ‘Xbox Live Creators Program’ is now open to everyone. The program is designed as a separate platform within the Windows and Xbox Stores where indie developers can publish their creations with a minimum of fuss. [caption id=“attachment_3918535” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Xbox One Controller[/caption] Microsoft curates the games and apps you see on the Windows and Xbox Stores. These games need to be vetted and adhere to “strict” quality guidelines. The ID@Xbox programs allows developers to sign up and self-publish games on Xbox Live. There’s a one-time fee of $20 associated with the program, but as you can see, it’s nominal. ID@Xbox makes it very easy for developers to submit games on the Xbox and Windows platforms, but the Creators Program makes it even easier. Under the Creators Program, you simply sign up and publish your games. Nobody will curate the games under this program and no questions will be asked. Games published under this program will be featured in a special section of the Store called the ‘Creators Collection’. Developers can develop and test games using a regular Xbox One.

Microsoft explains that games published through this program will have access to social features like leaderboards and your activity feed. However, these games will not have access to Xbox Live services like Achievements, Gamerscore or even internet multiplayer (local multiplayer is supported). Today, the Creators Collection includes nine new games from indie developers. Microsoft hopes that more developers will start contributing to the program soon. The nine games include Animal Rivals: A party game for up to four players, Kubic: A puzzle game that makes you create optical illusions and Crystal Brawl: A 2v2 capture-the-flag style local multiplayer game. You can check out the rest of the games here.