Microsoft has announced it is no longer taking new subscriptions or membership renewals for the Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) program, which will undergo a "sunsetting process" and be phased out.

The program, which predates ID@Xbox, allowed developers to create and self-publish indie games on Xbox 360, but is being shuttered as "more than 1,000 developers with kits in hand [are] working on the next generation of games for Xbox One and Windows 10."

According to Microsoft, it is no longer accepting subscriptions and membership renewals. The company has said it will support in-development projects up until September 9, 2016, at which point the indie games store will be closed.

All creators with a valid subscription will receive a lifetime WIndows Developer account as of today for free. After September 9, 2016, Microsoft will "pay out all money earned by developers."

Microsoft also addressed the existing library of indie games: "Of course, players will still be able to re-download games they own and continue to play games they own."

"XBLIG is where many great developers got their start, and “diversity” doesn’t even begin to describe the incredible variety of games that creators made on XBLIG. So seeing the end come into view is definitely bittersweet," said Chris Charla, head of the ID@Xbox program.

"As I look back, I feel the vision of the original creators of the program has been completely proven out by subsequent events. Games are a hugely important art form and the torch of democratizing game development has been carried on with amazing tools such as Unity, GameMaker, and Unreal Engine."

Although the XBLIG program was a popular avenue for indie developers to take when publishing on Xbox 360, the momentum dropped off following the launch of the Xbox One.

The new ID@Xbox is considered to be the program's spiritual successor, and allows any and all developers to sign up and develop games using publicly available engines such as Unity.

"Creators have more platforms they can ship on today than ever before, and more and better tools to help them every day – and our priority is ensuring that we give independent developers the support they need to take the next step with us towards the future of gaming," Charla added.

At E3 2015, Microsoft expanded its indie scope by introducing an early access program. Xbox Game Preview functions very much like the Steam Early Access programme, but instead of buying an unfinished product up-front, Xbox One owners will be able to play a trial, then decide if they want to commit.

Microsoft said a select number of games will join the program over the year, with titles including Shelter and DayZ on the way. It launched with Elite: Dangerous, which will exit the program and have a full Xbox One release on October 6.