Microsoft: We haven't forgotten about indies, honest

As promised, Microsoft spent the bulk of its E3 presser this morning in Los Angeles to detail games which could be expected on its outgoing and incoming platforms. We also caught a bit of a glimpse of the company's overtures toward independents as well. Previews were shown of several new titles, including Ryse: Son of Rome, Sunset Overdrive, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Battlefield 4, new Halo and Metal Gear Solid franchise entires, Titanfall, and Forza Motorsport 5, the last of which claiming to boast a "drivertar" that will continue playing while the user is away from the console. Other fanpleasers including a spiritual successor to Panzer Dragoon, Crimson Dragon, was teased, as well as next-gen open-world zombie game Dead Rising 3. Dave McCarthy introduced SmartGlass- and Windows 8-integrated game-building title Project Spark "there are an infinite number of ways to play, build and share," said Dave McCarthy. In the midst of these triple-A offerings, Phil Harrison came on stage to address independent game developers. This was illustrated through a long rendered trailer for Minecraft, some in-game footage of Remedy's Quantum Break (first showcased at the Xbox Reveal) and the briefly showcased murder mystery by Swery65, D4. Below, by SuperBrothers' Capybara, was displayed as well. Microsoft did not address how, if at all, it would be modifying its existing publishing model for the Xbox One, and while acknowledging indie developers at all is surely a good sign, details remain scarce on just how independents can actually get involved putting their games on the console. We may learn more later on during E3.