Microsoft Waives Re-Certification Fees for Xbox 360 Title Updates

Microsoft hasn't been on the best of terms with indie developers. Just one of the reasons for this is down to the fee that studios must pay in order to patch their games. According to a new report, this is no longer the case.

After charging developers tens of thousands of dollars to update their Xbox Live Arcade titles, Eurogamer is claiming that Microsoft has changed tack and waived the fee earlier this year. What's baffling is that, given the very public nature of indie discontent, Microsoft has apparently made this change "on the quiet". You'd think it would be a bit more vocal about the positive change.

Here's how the new policy works in the case of title updates. Developers will still be charged an initial fee to submit their games to Microsoft's certification process, so that they can be released on XBLA. And they will still be able to release one free title update. But, any fees associated with re-submitting their games to the certification process as a result of any changes the title update makes will be waived.

Adds Eurogamer, "If a developer is deemed to be making an excessive number of re-submissions due to an update failing certification, for example, Microsoft reserves the right to issue a charge."