A developer has revealed that it must delay its multiplatform game on PlayStation 4, Vita and Wii U, or face being unable to release it on Xbox One due to Microsoft's "parity clause".
According to Eurogamer, Australian developer Witch Beam is encountering issues trying to get its twin stick shooter Assault Android Cactus on Microsoft's console.
The ID@Xbox programme requires games on the console to have "day one parity", meaning developers can only release their titles on Xbox One if they haven't already been released on other consoles.
Talking to Eurogamer, co-creator Sanatana Mishra said, "The simple answer is that our plans wouldn't meet the launch day parity requirement of the ID@Xbox program.
"We started development on our other console versions long before self-publishing was an option for Xbox One, and the only way we could meet that requirement would be to delay the other versions of Assault Android Cactus."
While a reprieve could have been found if Witch Beam had exclusivity deals in place before the ID@Xbox programme was announced, as Microsoft will work with studios on a case by case basis to consider waiving its rules in those instances, unfortunately this doesn't help the Assault Android Cactus team. Mishra explained they "didn't have an exclusivity agreement in place with another console platform before the ID@Xbox program was announced, which could have allowed us to get a waiver."
The full list of devs making use of the new programme was announced last week. While Microsoft has suggested the indie dev send through an application to get the game released anyway, Mishra concluded saying, "Overall I think think the ID program is very developer friendly and light years ahead of what Microsoft were doing even six months ago.
"But it's also coming in late with a clause that punishes those who have been developing on other platforms that were readily available for the past year, and that's something they need to fix before it's a viable option."
