Microsoft has paid out over $1.5 billion in royalties to independent game developers since it launched the [email protected] program in 2013.

“As we’re getting ready to make the leap to the next generation of consoles with Xbox Series X, it seems like a good time to take a look back at the birth of the modern indie game, especially Microsoft’s role in helping shape that scene and how the [email protected] Program has grown since,” Microsoft director Chris Charla writes in the announcement post. “We’ve seen more than 2,000 games from independent developers launch on Xbox One and PC.”

Indie games are made by small teams and even independent developers, evoking the beginnings of the personal computer industry when that was the norm. But some of these games are certified blockbusters akin to the biggest, most expensive games in the industry in terms of reach and profits. Titles like Inside, We Happy Few, and Cuphead are cited by Microsoft as some key examples.

Looking ahead, Microsoft says that indie games will continue to be “an essential part of the mix” on Xbox Series X, and notes that it has already seeded the developer community with hundreds of Xbox Series X dev kits.

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