Darwinia dev Introversion done with XBLA
Steam represents its future.
Couple Darwinia+'s longer than expected development with a "poor performance" on Xbox Live Arcade, and it's no wonder Introversion has decided to focus its future on Steam.
"Do we regret working with Microsoft? No, but it's unlikely we'll work with them again," Introversion's mouthpiece Mark Morris told PC Gamer.
"[Microsoft] make you work harder on the production value, but they don't back it up with sales."
Darwinia+ is a combination of Darwinia and Multiwinia - a project bossed by Microsoft that took Introversion down a frustratingly long and winding development path. Darwinia+ was eventually released in February 2010, nearly four years after Darwinia - and a precocious, naive Introversion - won top honours at the Independent Games Festival.
The poor sales of Darwinia+ almost ruined a fragile Introversion. What saved the once bastion of British independent gaming was, coincidentally, Steam, and the sale of nuclear warfare strategy game Defcon.
"For the first time in a long time we've got a cash flow that extends out for two years at our size, which is nice," said Morris in August 2010.
With that cash, Introversion can hoist its sails; and with creator Chris Delay reinvigorated to be finally working on his beloved Subversion - comes the wind to fill them.