What is the Xbox Creators Program? | Xbox Overview

What is the Xbox Creators Program?
Published July 2021

The Launch
The Xbox Live Creators Program went live in August 2017. Not to be confused with the ID@Xbox program, which spotlights more high-profile indie games, the Creators Program will allow potentially anybody to publish a title in the store and allowing for more small-scale titles to hit the market. Games released through the Creators Program lack many features in standard Xbox titles, including no achievements and lack of online support. Even if a developer uses a workaround to allow for online play, it's going to be difficult to find populated games in such obscure titles. If it sounds similar to the Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) section on the Xbox 360, that's because it is...

There was a sense of déjà vu when the Creators Program launched, bringing back memories of how the XBLIG were buried within the storefront, making them difficult to stumble upon by accident. The Creators Program storefront was only accessible from the front page of the store, which sounds good at first until you realize that this isn't necessarily a frequently navigated page. Most users will check the new games and the deals, neither of which feature Creators Program games. With the Creators Program service being so similar to what XBLIG was offering, it's a bit of a bummer that they didn't just carry those games over to the Xbox One rather than just close that storefront and ditch the thousands of games that had been submitted on the service.

Shenmue (Xbox One, 2018)

Shenmue

Developed by Sega/d3t Ltd.

Published by Sega

Released for Xbox One (8/21/2018)

Also on PC/PS4

 

Originally released for the Dreamcast in 1999 (2000 in the US) and was a landmark title that was created with the biggest budget Sega had ever used for a video game at the time of its release. Shenmue was created with Yu Suzuki at the helm as director (Outrun, Hang-On, Virtua Fighter) and is considered by many to be one of the most important releases for the short-lived Sega Dreamcast console. In this review we'll take a look at the Xbox One 2018 release of Shenmue, which also came out for the PC and PlayStation 4. 

Shenmue was quite the ambitious project back in the 90's when it came out, featuring a decent size open-world to explore with detail that had been unrivaled at the time. The game tells the story of Ryo Hazuki, who witnesses his father beaten to death in their dojo at the start of the game. The rest of the game is spent trying to identify the man who killed your father and get revenge for his murder. Taking place in Yokosuka, Japan, you'll have access to explore several areas which are linked by brief loading screens. The town is called Dobuita, which is where the majority of the interesting stuff will occur. There are a large number of shops you can enter, NPCs to interact with (though most don't have time to talk to you) and other various activities. Shenmue really excels at making the environments feel immersive and alive, with NPCs that operate on a schedule and will actually go about doing their own thing. In addition to a day and night cycle, there are also varying states of weather including rain and snow. At the end of the day you'll have to go home and sleep, but thankfully the developers spared us from having to eat and use the bathroom. 

Brutal Chase (Xbox One, 2018)

Brutal Chase 

Developed/Published by Gamer Bear

Released for Xbox One (12/15/2018)

 

Brutal Chase was developed by Gamer Bear (the same ones that brought us Coconut Farm 3D) and was released under the Creators Collection program in December 2018. If you've ever played any of the arcade classic Chase HQ games then you'll know what to expect from Brutal Chase. The gameplay involves taking to the streets in a police car and ramming your vehicle into criminals as a means of apprehending them. We haven't had the best experience with these Creators Collection games thus far, but with such a cool premise and cheap price tag, I was more than willing to take a chance on this one. Without further ado, let's get into it and see if this one is worth ninety-nine cents that it cost to play it....

In Brutal Chase you'll smash up the cars of criminals in 9 different locations scattered across the globe. The game starts off in New York, but also features stages in San Francisco, Vancouver, Mexico, Isle of Man, Hamburg, Barcelona and Agra. As you smash up the criminals, you'll accumulate credits which can be spent between missions in order to upgrade your current car or purchase a new vehicle. There are a total of 5 vehicles to purchase, with each featuring more stats to grind your way towards upgrading. While pursuing the criminals you'll also have to watch out for civilian traffic, since colliding with innocent cars will deduct credits from your wallet.