Microsoft: Exciting Things Coming to Xbox One After Launch

The Xbox One is less than a month away from launch, however that isn’t keeping Microsoft from teasing fans with promises of new features coming after November.

The tease surfaced amid comments made by Xbox Vice President, Phil Harrison in an interview with Edge magazine. After being asked how long it would take Microsoft to reintroduce the features it removed from the Xbox One due to public backlash, Harrison said, “… as soon as we get past launch then there are some really exciting things that are on the way.”

Harrison didn’t elaborate on what these “exciting features” might be, but he did clarify Microsoft’s position on independent games and how it has evolved its policies to support independent developers. Microsoft will still require any developer publishing a game for the Xbox One to submit their game for certification. Microsoft will also continue to require that developers submit title updates for certification. Developers updating their titles won’t have to pay Microsoft a fee for submitting title updates on the Xbox One. The company announced that it would stop charging for title updates earlier this year.

Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem has been criticized for not being as friendly to independent developers for some time. It’s a public relations issue that Sony exploited as it discussed its independent games policies for the PlayStation 4 during this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Sony and Microsoft hope that courting makers of titles like Super Meat Boy and Braid will help them compete with the Steam PC service and mobile gaming platforms like iOS and Android.

As for Harrison’s pronouncement about exciting updates coming to the Xbox One after launch, the remarks won’t come as a shock to Xbox 360 owners. It is likely that Microsoft’s decision to continuously reinvent the Xbox 360 with bi-yearly dashboard updates played a big role in  the Xbox 360 outselling the PlayStation 3 for 32 months.

Read: Where to Play the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 Right Now

The Xbox One goes on sale November 22nd for $499. Sony’s PlayStation 4 launches on November 15th for $399.