Why Nuclear Throne is heading to PS4 first

Nuclear Throne will be available for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but Vlambeer signed with Sony first to avoid Microsoft’s launch parity clause, Joystiq reports.

Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail told Joystiq that the team discussed bringing Nuclear Throne to the Xbox One in the early days of ID@Xbox. However, the program requires developers to launch games the same day on Xbox One and other platforms.

“There had been mentions beforehand that there was a launch parity clause in the contract, with the exception of games that were already signed to another platform during the announcement of their self-publishing program,” Ismail said. “Thus, before we signed with Microsoft, we e-mailed Sony that we quickly wanted to sign Nuclear Throne with them with a month of exclusivity.”

According to Ismail, Vlambeer wanted to avoid the trouble of a simultaneous launch and focus on one platform at a time.

“We’d rather Microsoft allow us not only the freedom to self-publish, but also to publish in whatever order we prefer,” Ismail said. “We’ll keep pushing for Microsoft to drop the clause, and we’d recommend any other developer to do the same.”

Vlambeer was among the first to join Microsoft’s ID@Xbox indie development program, along with devs such as Double Fine, Crytek and Hidden Path. More studios are expected to be announced as the program nears its launch next year.