Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Indies angered by new Xbox dash

Update marginalises independent games.

Yesterday's overhaul of the Xbox 360 dashboard has upset a number of independent developers, who claim it makes it even harder for their games to find an audience.

The revamp moves Xbox Live Indie Games out of the games store proper and hides it under a new tab titled Specialty Shops alongside the Avatar Marketplace and Game Room.

Gamasutra reports that developers are taking to the App Hub forum to voice their discontent.

"I'd like to know the rationale behind it - at least then the community could try and come up with constructive alternatives, rather than being pushed further into obscurity," said Deej, developer of Clover: A Curious Tale.

Weapon of Choice studio Mommy's Best Games posted, "I'm hear to mourn Indie Games being known as 'games', which I suppose we must now rename Indie Specialties."

Developer Projector Games added "Steam Heroes was one of the first games to come out after the new dash change and I have to say that our sales have been beyond horrible - which is suprising, as I'd say it's one of the better games I've released on XBLIG."

We've contacted Microsoft to explain the move and will update when it responds.