On September 28th it was reported on Xbox Wire that the Windows and Xbox One “game creation engine” Project Spark was to transition from a micro-transaction model to a “free and open” format, and that all previous paid DLC would be unlocked for new and existing users. Project Spark isn’t the first example of Microsoft encouraging console gamers to create their own fun experiences in virtual sandboxes – in 2009 they offered a free downloadable application named “Kodu Game Lab” for Xbox 360, a visual programming environment where users can create basic 3D experiences with nothing more than an Xbox gamepad.

Project Spark was originally met with mixed reception – users claimed that it was somewhat clunky and unintuitive, and that (like many other games with UGC elements) it suffered from poor promotion of genuinely impressive user-created content, with user ratings being vastly at odds with the actual quality of the rated content. Whether the change to a fully-free model will encourage more people to try Project Spark remains to be seen, but it’s encouraging to note that new content and features for Project Spark are planned for its “fully free” release on October 5th. In the meantime, you can still find the original release, microtransactions and all, on the Microsoft Store.

More details about Project Spark can be found at http://welcome.projectspark.com/