Moonglow Bay Devs Say Working With Xbox To Bring It To Game Pass Has Been 'So Chill'
Image: Coatsink/Bunnyhug

Earlier this year, some negative reports regarding PlayStation's handling of indie games surfaced which raised a few eyebrows. It's a sad affair if that's how certain titles are handled, but luckily, the general consensus seems to be that working with Xbox is an entirely different experience. The developers at Bunnyhug, the team behind Moonglow Bay, are the most recent to praise the working relationship, claiming that it's "so chill".

Speaking in an exclusive interview with us earlier this week, the game's creative director Zach Soares and art director Lu Nascimento told us how freeing the experience has been for them bringing Moonglow Bay to Xbox Game Pass. Nascimento said it has "been so chill" and the team would "be happy working with them again", with Soares adding they've had full control over the game.

"The day you make ‘the deal’, you’re afraid of that point on you’re going to have no control. Well, not no control, but things are going to come in to make development harder, because they load you with features. But nothing. They basically said, 'here’s a list of things you can do, you don’t have to do them'.

"They come to us when they have their own marketing events planned. Our publisher organises it with them, but they’ve been so straightforward that you forget that they’re there."

Interestingly, Soares claimed the interest for Moonglow Bay on Xbox Game Pass stemmed from Microsoft. The developer was approached in 2018, where they showed a tiny slice of the game, with Xbox being the "most keen" in it.

"Since ours was so early, a lot of people were just saying 'come to us when it’s done', but Microsoft was like 'this is interesting, we like it, just keep updating us'. They constantly asked in emails and stuff going forward."

Without a doubt, it's refreshing and uplifting to see smaller titles such as these actively encouraged in their development. The fact that Xbox showed interest in Moonglow Bay from the start bodes well for its full launch on October 7 into Xbox Game Pass, and we can't wait to see the full results.

Happy to see Xbox encouraging indie developers? Let us know in the comments below.