Microsoft recently released new guidelines for the creation, sharing, and monetization of video content such as streams, let’s plays, and machinima featuring Microsoft Studios published games, such as Killer Instinct.
These rules lean in favor of video content creators, however the company has put in some clear protections for its intellectual property. For example, any sort of reverse engineering to access assets not normally seen in the game are prohibited.
While the rules lay out prohibitions on offensive content, the more interesting bits have to do with Microsoft’s updated guidelines on monetization.
Except as described here, you can’t sell or otherwise earn any compensation from your Item, including through advertisements in the Item. This means you can’t charge money in exchange for your Item, post it on a site that requires subscription or other fees to view the Item, or post it on a page you use to sell other items or services(even if they have nothing to do with Game Content or Microsoft). You also can’t use Game Content in an app that you sell in an app store.
You may make your Item available on Youtube or Twitch and participate in programs on those sites that allow you to earn revenue from ads displayed in connection with your Item.
If the Item you create and distribute is a free app, then you must distribute it for free (you can’t charge for it), and you also can’t earn any money from advertising in that app.
Based on this, it seems that the only revenue that Microsoft will allow is from specific partner programs. This may prove to be problematic for some streams, including those provided by tournaments, that do derive some additional revenue from the placement of advertisements and sponsor logos.
For a bit more insight into how this could affect fighting game streams, we contacted resident community lawyer David “UltraDavid” Graham for his thoughts on the matter.
“[M]ost tournament organizers who’ve run Killer Instinct tournaments have already been going against the rules anyway by not getting authorization from Microsoft. It’s already an infringement of Microsoft’s rights to just run a public tourney in the first place,” he explained. “This change only affects organizers in that now they’re going against the rules in slightly more ways than before. The more significant worry is if Microsoft’s willingness to write and announce new rules hints that it might be more willing to enforce them.”
For now, we’ll have to wait and see if any major revisions are needed in the way tournaments broadcast their Killer Instinct competitions. If you think these updated regulations may affect you, be sure to check out Microsoft’s official guidelines.
Source: Microsoft via Game Informer
