Developer Digital Extremes hasn't ruled out an Xbox One port of Warframe just yet, but Microsoft's going to have to make some changes first.
Digital Extremes’ popular free-to-play co-op shooter Warframe is currently playable on PC and will be available on Sony’s PlayStation 4 when it launches later this year. The developer isn’t ruling out an Xbox One release just yet, but Microsoft is going to have to make some changes before an Xbox One port of Warframe can be seriously considered.
According to Digital Extremes vice-president of publishing Meredith Braun, Microsoft will need to change their policy which requires developers to partner with a publisher before they can release a game on the Xbox Live Marketplace (Digital Extremes is an independent, or “indie”, developer): "We would love to see Warframe on Xbox One, the ball is in Microsoft's court with regards to allowing titles on their system that come from an independent developer and not an established publisher."
Microsoft claims that their current policy is meant to ensure a certain level of quality for the games they release on Xbox consoles but the added restrictions and publishing costs (which come out of the developer’s pocket) are something Digital Extremes just isn’t willing to put up with.
The good news is that Microsoft’s current policy regarding developer-publisher pairing isn’t exactly set in stone. The company recently axed their policy of charging developers for updating their games and they’ve also been hinting at a desire to establish a stronger relationship with indie developers (changing their current developer-publisher policy would go a long way towards doing just that).
