Indie Developers: Ouya Owes Us Thousands of Dollars

Emanuel Maiberg:

On Monday, gaming peripheral company Razer announced that it acquired the software and part of the team behind Ouya, which infamously raised $8.5 million through crowdfunding in 2012 to build an Android-based microconsole. It was a desperate move for the struggling small console maker–and now some indie developers who worked on Ouya games say they’re being screwed by the acquisition.

Multiple independent developers who wish to remain anonymous have told Motherboard that contracts they had originally signed with Ouya, which promised to pay them thousands of dollars, will not be honored as a result of the acquisition.

For a console that was crowdfunded on the idea that independent game developers needed a way to put their games onto a TV when Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo weren’t doing the job, they sure managed to screw up every part of the project. From the controller to paying developers what they were promised.

After the failure of the Ouya it will now be more difficult for independent developers and gamers to trust small businesses. Where did the trust go? Back into Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo who now have better places for independent developers.