Microsoft officially began the process to rebrand its community games line as the Indie Games line this morning with changes to the XNA Creator's Club website. In addition the name change, the service now features several key additions that developers have been asking for for quite some time. Among the changes:
- Tokens: In an effort to answer developer's complaints about how hard it is to promote an Indie Game, developers are now allotted 50 tokens to use as review codes to give to media outlets or other sources that can get the word out about their title.
- Updates: Users will now be updated through Xbox Live when an Indie Game is updated, rather than having to check the XNA Creator's club forum.
- Creator Reputation: Creators will now receive points, badges and levels based on their activity on the service. It's believed that developers with a higher reputation will be featured more on the service.
- Expanding Service: Japanese and German developers can now submit their games to the service
In addition to these changes, Microsoft announced a new pricing structure that is sure to bring more users to the service. Using a new three-tier system: 80 MS points (about $1), 240 MS Points (about $3), and 400 MS Points (about $5), developers now have control over prices and can change them as they wish.
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