Indie developers say they're owed thousands of dollars as a result of Razer's acquisition of the Ouya microconsole storefront and technical team. Speaking anonymously to Vice, multiple developers claim that contracts they originally signed with Ouya, which promised to pay them thousands of dollars, are not being honoured. The value of those deals ranged from $5,000 (£3,000) all the way to $30,000 (£20,000), according to Vice.
Shortly after the release of the Ouya, the microconsole maker attempted to entice developers to create games with the Free the Games Fund. The idea behind the fund was for Ouya to match a game's successful crowdfunding campaign, provided it raised a minimum of $50,000 and the developer agreed to a six-month exclusivity deal. Unfortunately for Ouya, the fund was embroiled in controversy after it emerged that developers were backing their own Kickstarter campaigns in order to get hold of the free cash.
Ouya later updated the terms of the fund to combat gaming of the system, which included a clause that said developers would get 50 percent of the money when they completed a playable beta version, 25 percent when the game launched, and the final 25 percent at the end of the exclusivity period. According to Vice, as developers were launching their beta builds, they were also asked to sign a new contract, which stated that either party may terminate the agreement in the event that the other party becomes insolvent, unable to pay its debts, or goes bankrupt.
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