Haak Dev Cancels Xbox Version, Criticizes Microsoft for Delays

Indie developer Blingame was forced to cancel the Xbox version of its game, Haak, and the studio criticizes Microsoft for more than a year's worth of delays.

The developer released a statement over the weekend where it detailed how it spent more than 14 months trying to bring its 2022 game to Microsoft's console. However, the process only ended up being a "nightmare," mainly due to the "many" alleged bugs in Microsoft's Partner Center.

Blingame's Troubles With Xbox Ports

This is not exactly the first time that an Xbox port of a game has experienced trouble and last year, Baldur's Gate 3 was going to be ported to the Xbox Series X/S. The effort hit an issue pre-release owing to the S console but the problems were later resolved.

The process of actually porting games can be tricky for a lot of reasons and a lack of proper support from console makers can exacerbate this. This is particularly true in the relationship between them and the developers, according to GameDeveloper.

In the case of Blingame, the studio claimed that the MPC's bugs stopped it from registering an account, adding that further issues with the support system made efforts of requesting help "impossible" to do.

The developer said that it had already informed ID@Xbox about their predicament but it seemed like they were powerless to help with the situation. The problem apparently fell outside of their scope of responsibility.

Blingame also shared a private Microsoft response to the game's very public cancellation, where Xbox offered to try and help them out. It then shifted to former Xbox executive Major Nelson and Epic's Tim Sweeney getting involved, said PureXbox.

Criticizing Microsoft's Part in the Issue

The indie developer included in its statement that if everything was working properly, it would have taken less than two weeks to port their game to Xbox. However, more than a year of efforts included trying to "apply for game publication" and "complete Microsoft Partner identity registration.

The developer continued to say that the situation was even more heart-wrenching because they could feel the enthusiasm of the community wanting to get an Xbox version of their game. It then noted that despite its wishes, its development funds were extremely tight.

This meant that the studio was no longer able to wait much longer for a solution to the problem that it was experiencing trying to port Haak to Xbox. This ultimately led to the decision to scrap the port, according to TrueAchievements.