DigitalNoob

Following the release of its own Indie Bundle at the beginning of May, EA continues to show its support for the independent developer community.  With the success of major crowd-funded titles such as Wasteland 2, Shadowrun Returns, and the Double Fine Adventure on Kickstarter, the massive publisher has chosen to waive the distribution fees for any crowd-funded games on its Origin platform for the first 90 days after their release in support of these titles.

“The public support for crowd-funding creative game ideas coming from small developers today is nothing short of phenomenal,” said David DeMartini, Senior Vice President of Origin at EA. “It’s also incredibly healthy for the gaming industry. Gamers around the world deserve a chance to play every great new game, and by waiving distribution fees on Origin we can help make that a reality for successfully crowd-funded developers.”

While some would look at acts like this as EA stepping somewhere it doesn’t belong, I can’t help but feel that any aid given to indie developers that doesn’t compromise their own vision will only be a benefit to the entire community. While the ability to reach an audience of more than 12 million users free of charge for three months will certainly benefit the three major crowd-funded games, the publisher’s offer will be of the greatest benefit to the many smaller titles, giving them the ability to reach their potential faster than they ever would have thought possible. Waiving the distribution fees for the first 90 days on Origin is an act that will certainly take the weight off many a developer’s shoulders as they near their launch date.

Does this mean EA is changing its ways and becoming a more friendly company? Probably not, but a guy can hope.