Reports circulated yesterday that Microsoft was changing course on its intent to make every Xbox One a potential development kit, a move that would significantly lower the barrier for development on the console, but Microsoft has clarified its position on the matter.
Martin Fuller, Senior Engineer in the Advanced Technology Group at Xbox, said yesterday at the Develop conference in Brighton, UK, that the intent was "an admirable goal," and said he couldn't go into specifics why it wouldn't happen.
"As far as I'm aware, there are no plans," he said. "I'm not aware of the reason why we didn't manage to do that," he said in response to a question about it being a future feature.
A spokesperson for Microsoft said later though that "the comments today were inaccurate. We remain committed to ensuring the best possible solutions for developers and hobbyists to create games for Xbox One. We will share more details at a later date."
If Microsoft does end up deciding not to add this feature, it'll be a surprise. The company has reversed course on almost all its troubling policies, and this was a cool, indie-friendly bonus. The spokesperson's comments make it hard to tell if this exact feature is coming sometime in the future or if something similar has taken its place, but it looks like Microsoft has something planned.
