After dealing with backend bugs for 14 months, acclaimed Metroidvania dev scraps Xbox port that could've taken "less than two weeks"
Aug. 17, 2024The developer behind HAAK makes some claims against Microsoft’s support system
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One indie developer has scrapped an Xbox port of its acclaimed Metroidvania platformer, claiming that certification bugs have extended a two week port job into a 14-month wait.
“During the process of getting our game on Xbox, we encountered numerous obstacles,” developer Blingame recently tweeted. “What seemed like a simple procedure turned into a nightmare due to many bugs in theMicrosoftPartner Centre, preventing us from successfully completing account registration. Even Microsoft’s support service system had bugs, making it impossible to initiate inquiries about our issues. This is simply unbelievable for developers.”
Blingame writes that it raised the issue with the company’s indie program ID@Xbox, “but they were powerless to help as it apparently falls outside their scope of responsibility and seems to be a Microsoft issue.”
“In reality, porting the Xbox version of our game would have taken less than two weeks, but we spent over 14 months trying to ‘apply for game publication’ and ‘complete Microsoft partner identity registration.’ This experience has been terrible because we can feel enthusiasm from the Xbox community players,” the tweet continues. “Although we very much want to share HAAK’s adventure with more players, our development funds are extremely tight, and we can’t afford to wait any longer. As a result, we’ve ultimately decided to abandon the Xbox platform release.”
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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