Fez 2 likely won’t be coming to Microsoft’s next console
Fez 2 was one of the most surprising announcements of E3. It was also arguably the most cryptic. Outside of a short teaser trailer, little was revealed about Polytron’s forthcoming project — platforms least of all.
Speaking with Polygon on the subject of what systems Fez 2 might call home, creator Phil Fish’s response was simple: “Not Xbox.” A surprising response, perhaps, given Fish spent roughly five years developing Fezthen-exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade. However, the designer crossed swords with Microsoft over itsprohibitively expensiverecertification process, and it seems like the relationship has deteriorated from there.
Microsoft made a desperate attempt to win back consumers earlier this week,revisingitsused games policy for Xbox One after a torrent of bad press. And yet, despite the about-face, Fish doesn’t seem interested in working with Microsoft anytime soon. “They didn’t change anything about their anti-indie policies,” he exclaimed.
“Whether or not I would develop for it comes down to how the platform holder treats me,” Fish continued.” “With Microsoft they’ve made it painfully clear they don’t want my ilk on their platform. I can’t even self-publish there. Whereas on PS4, I can. It’s that simple. Microsoft won’t let me develop for their console. But Sony will.”
Phil Fish on Fez 2 ambition and launch platforms: ‘Not Xbox’ [Polygon]