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 Ouya's Free the Games Fund Still Owes Game Devs Money

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Ouya's Free the Games Fund Still Owes Game Devs Money Empty
PostSubject: Ouya's Free the Games Fund Still Owes Game Devs Money   Ouya's Free the Games Fund Still Owes Game Devs Money EmptyWed Jul 29, 2015 7:27 am

UPDATE 7/28/15 8:25 p.m. PT: Razer plans to fulfill the agreement made with developers in the Free the Games program.

Yesterday, Razer announced it was buying Ouya, makers of the Android-based microconsole. As part of the acquisition, it was originally revealed that the developers in the Free the Games program would not be receiving the balance of what they were owed.

“Razer and a new OUYA publishing entity will work to satisfy previously involved Free the Games (FtG) developers, while creating a more open, sustainable distribution model that benefits gamers and expands revenue opportunities for all parties involved,” Razer said in a statement.

Razer is backing a fund worth roughly $620,000 for FtG developers who signed agreements with Ouya and fulfilled their milestones.

“Razer has a real interest in supporting indie developers and furthering the expansion of Android gaming on TV. Moving forward with this plan will ensure that both interests are met, as openly, widely, and beneficially as possible.”

The financial terms will mostly remain the same but developers will not be limited to any one platform. Publishing will be promoted across all Android platforms.

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Two years ago, in an effort to bring more games over to its Android-based microconsole, Ouya announced the Free the Games Fund.

The fund promised to match a game's Kickstarter funds if that game remained an Ouya exclusive for at least six months. Now that Ouya has been acquired by Razer, some independent game developers claim they're getting shortchanged.

Free the Games promised to pay developers in segments: half after a playable beta was completed, a quarter once the game officially launched, and the last quarter once the six month period of exclusivity ended.

Ouya's recent acquisition by Razer has seemingly nullified its obligation to the developers who were still in the process of being paid their dues.

This turn of events wasn't entirely unforeseen. According to Motherboard, a new section titled "8.3. Termination Upon Bankruptcy or Insolvency" was added to the Free the Games contract earlier this year, which would allow Ouya to end its commitment to a developer if it became insolvent, and vice versa.

One game developer, who wished to remain anonymous, told IGN that Razer informed their team in mid-July that they would not be receiving the remaining funds from Free the Games – upwards of $30k.

"Razer definitely stepped up for that part of the conversation and also insisted that we talk with them mostly on the phone," the developer told IGN. "This makes me think that they might not want any of this written down."

The inconvenience to independent developers who were committed to a six month Ouya-exclusive launch has been substantial.

"As far as the effect on development, the most important thing is that the Free The Games fund money covered the cost of OUYA development. Had they pulled out of the deal earlier, we could have refocused on development for mobile devices, or our other planned consoles, and had them ready for our first launch. Because of OUYA's six-month exclusivity period, these platforms were put on the back burner, so we aren't even able to make up for the loss in predicted income by launching on additional platforms," said the developer.

Our source also confirmed that Free the Games was not part of Razer's purchase of Ouya, but that Razer did mention the possibility of helping release their game in some way "to make up for this," but offered no specifics.

We've reached out to Razer for more information on their plans and will update with any new details.
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