It was only a matter of time, but after the end of the month, you will no longer be able to purchase new Xbox Live Indie Games for your Xbox 360. The program started to wind down back in 2015 with developers being told they could develop new games until September 2016.
FYI, September 29th will be the last day to purchase new XBLIG games on Xbox 360. You will still be able to re-d/l games you own, of course.
— ID@Xbox (@ID_Xbox) September 11, 2017
When inquiring as to the reason for shutting down the ability to purchase new games, ID@Xbox promptly responded confirming the program was being fully sunsetted.
Microsoft is sunsetting the program.
— ID@Xbox (@ID_Xbox) September 11, 2017
The Xbox Live Indie Games program provided indie developers an easier way to publish their games for gamers to enjoy on their Xbox 360 consoles. While the program did not continue over from the Xbox 360 to Xbox One console, Microsoft recently released the Xbox Live Creators Program, which pretty much does the same thing.
Given the Xbox 360 is now 12 years old and the Xbox One is almost 4 years old, it makes sense for Microsoft to focus their efforts on the now current generation console. If you still fire up your Xbox 360 now and again, you can check out the Indie Games and pick up a few before you’re no longer able to after September 29th. Most can be had for a buck or two, and it will be your last chance to toss some coin to some of these Indie developers.
What do you think about the sunsetting of the Xbox Live Indie Games program? What was the favourite game you discovered through the program? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.