Homebrew based on Microsoft franchises now allowed?

August 14th, 2007, 00:49 Posted By: Darksaviour69



Microsoft announced at the Gamefest 2007 (Dream-Build-Play winners ) effectively immediately, some game content published by Microsoft Game Studios and owned by Microsoft is now available for noncommercial use by consumers. Under a license similar to the Creative Commons license, consumers may now use gameplay footage, screen shots and other gameplay elements from popular Microsoft Game Studios titles such as the “Halo” franchise, “Forza Motorsport” and “Age of Empires” to express their own imagination and creativity. Details on the game content usage rules have been posted at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/developer/rules.htm along with samples of permissible and nonpermissible use.

Does this mean you can make homebrew games based on MS franchises? Well they are a few strict rules. Firstly it only applies where MS owns the complete copy right:

* Age of Empires
* Flight Simulator
* Forza Motorsport
* Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3
* Kameo
* Perfect Dark Zero
* Project Gotham Racing
* Rise of Nations
* Shadowrun
* Viva Piñata

Things you can't I do?

* You can’t reverse engineer our games to access the assets or otherwise do things that the games don’t normally permit in order to create your Items.
* You can’t use Game Content to create pornographic or obscene Items, or anything that contains vulgar, racist, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content.
* You can’t sell or otherwise earn anything from your Items. We will let you have advertising on the page with the Item on it, but that’s it. That means you can’t sell it, post it on a site that requires subscription or other fees, solicit donations of any kind (even by PayPal), use it to enter a contest or sweepstakes, or post it on a page you use to sell other items (even if those other items have nothing to do with Game Content or Microsoft).
* You can’t use the soundtracks or audio effects from the original game. We often license those from third parties and don’t have the rights to pass them on to you.
* You can’t infringe anyone’s IP rights in your Item, even if the IP rights being infringed don’t belong to Microsoft. Among other things that means you can’t use any of Microsoft’s trademarked logos or names except in the ways described in the pages linked from www.microsoft.com/trademarks.
* You can’t add to the game universe or expand on the story told in the game with “lost chapters” or back story or anything like that.
* You can’t grant anyone the right to build on your creations. We don’t mind if other people help you out, but you have to be clear with them that it’s not you giving permission, it’s us. (That’s how we make sure everyone plays by the same rules.)

So what does this mean? Well it could mean that we are now allowed to make "fan games" based on MS franchises, as long as you don't abuse the IP and you carefull how use the trademarked logos or names. Also its worth point out: "We can revoke this limited use license at any time and for any reason", so they can change there minds at any time, but I would guess MS are just making sure that this does not bite them in the ass at some stage.

So, anyone up for homebrew Halo?

thanks to yaustar for the heads-up

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