Microsoft has finally cleared the air and revealed their publishing program for indie developers on Xbox One. ID@Xbox registered devs will receive two Xbox One development kits, as well as access to documentation and forums.
Another development comes from the announcement that Microsoft will not charge publishers/developers to update their games on Xbox One. A variety of other services will also be made available, including cloud services, Kinect and the Xbox One toolset (Smartglass, Achievements/Gamerscores and multiplayer).
The platform holder is also promising that "all games are treated equal" on the next-gen console, and will work hard to improve discoverability for smaller titles. Three different ways of discovering games have been listed:
"First is the spotlight which is curated by Xbox. Second is trending, which highlights what's popular with your friends and the Xbox Live community. And third is recommendations, which is based on what you and your friends like to play."
At this early stage Microsoft are asking for developers with a proven track record of shipping games to sign up for the scheme. More details regarding the process are available here.