Game developer demands “big contribution” from Microsoft before considering supporting Windows Phone and Windows 8

We postulated yesterday that if Microsoft makes a habit of paying developers to port apps, developers will start demanding such payments before even considering a port.

Now some evidence has popped up that this is happening already.  The developers of Project Snowstorm, an MMORPG that is raising money at KickStarter, posted on their fundraising page:

"Supported Platforms – We will be supporting iOS and Android phones and tablets… Microsoft – If you want to make a big contribution, we can talk"

When challenged by our tipster Ingiomar, they quickly deleted the offending statement, but it is already clear that some developers has sniffed out that it is possible to demand money from Microsoft in return for porting apps.

With an estimated 130 million users on Windows 8 and Windows Phone the platform is large enough to deserve consideration independent of Microsoft’s involvement,  and such extortionary behaviour is really uncalled for.

Do our readers agree? Let us know below.

Update: The developer, Snowfury Studios, have now posted an apology on their Kickstarter page, saying:

SnowFury Studios, Inc: @WindowsPhoneUsers – Our apologies, the comment re Windows Phones was a poor attempt at humor and was removed when it came to our attention on launch day. This in no way reflects the company’s view of the platform. We have no issues supporting Windows platforms yet at the same time, we also need to focus our efforts.

If we are able to meet our minimum goals, we will restructure our first stretch goal to include the Windows platform. We hope to have the opportunity to bring the game to your platform.

Thanks Ingiomar for the tip.