Razer allegedly backing out of promised payouts for Ouya's Free the Games Fund

Indie developers expecting a cash reward for releasing Ouya versions of their games may not get what they're owed following the platform's recent purchase by hardware manufacturer Razer, according to an Engadget report.

An anonymous developer eligible for Ouya's "Free the Games Fund" tells Engadget that Razer nullified the deal over a series of phone calls earlier this month, despite long-standing promises from Ouya's previous owners.

In 2013, Ouya announced that it had earmarked $1 million for the " Free the Games Fund," an initiative that provided financial incentive for indie developers to release exclusive games for the company's $100 Android microconsole.

To be eligible for funding, developers agreed to make their games Ouya-exclusive for a minimum of six months. After the period of exclusivity ended, Ouya would then match the funding amount developers had earned from a linked Kickstarter project, up to a maximum payout of $250,000.

Ouya later revised its terms in order to address criticism and make funding more accessible for smaller studios. Afterward, the Free the Games Fund required developers to reach a $10,000 minimum funding goal on Kickstarter, with at least 100 backers logged for every additional $10,000 received afterward.

According to affected developers, Ouya quietly updated its Free the Games Fund contract earlier this year, adding a clause terminating all agreements in case of the company's insolvency, bankruptcy, or discontinuation. Razer's recent purchase of Ouya apparently absolves either company of payment under the updated terms.

Razer allegedly told a Free the Games Fund developer earlier this month that they would not receive Ouya's promised $30,000 in matched funding. "Razer/Ouya's insistence that these deals are gone is causing us to have to majorly restructure our plans leading up to release," the anonymous developer told Engadget. "The remaining money owed from the fund is essential to us in our last stages of marketing and QA, as well as a resource for continued content updates of the game after initial release."

Razer has not issued a response regarding Ouya Free the Games Fund developer allegations.