Indie developers earned over $2.5 billion in royalties through ID@Xbox program in 9 years

Microsoft has shared some ID@Xbox stats to celebrate its ninth anniversary. This program helped independent developers earn more than $2.5 billion in royalties since the 2013 launch.

In a blog post dedicated to the anniversary, Microsoft also noted that total revenue generated by ID@Xbox partners almost doubled over the last three years.

According to Microsoft, there are over 3000 indie games on Xbox. More than 1000 indie developers have also signed up to the ID@Xbox program over the last two years.

“We’ve also paid developers and publishers across Xbox hundreds of millions of dollars in Game Pass license fees,” the company said. “There are amazing games out today on Xbox (and other platforms!) that would never have existed without the support of Game Pass members, and that’s really been an incredible phenomenon.”

Speaking of Game Pass, Microsoft noted that an average member of its subscription service plays 30% more genres and plays 40% more games (mostly outside Game Pass) than other gamers.

ID@Xbox is a special program launched by Microsoft in 2014. It allows indie developers to self-publish their games for Xbox consoles and Windows. Over the years, hundreds of teams have participated in ID@Xbox, including Mediatonic, Larian Studios, Double Fine, and Bloober Team.