In amongst the wealth of recent TouchPad news – including everything from the tablet's UK release date and new app promo vehicle Pivot – HP has also drawn attention to one other key area: developer support.

Leading the line on that score is Fearless Studios – the outfit set up by former LucasArts men Cedrick Collomb and Haden Blackman.

Ecosystem freedom

Though neither party has lifted the lid on any specific titles, they have detailed the reasons behind their support of the platform. 

"Working with HP and the webOS ecosystem has been fantastic," said co-president and CCO, Haden Blackman.

"It's a perfect fit with our core values as a company – creative risks mitigated by smart technology choices. Because the platform is so accessible and developer-friendly, we've been able to build the game we want to build."

Apps on the up

In terms of pure numbers, apps is one area where webOS for Palm Pre devices is currently found wanting, but HP looks to be taking steps to ensure TouchPad's marketplace enjoys a greater population of titles from day one.

As such, the weekly editorial platform Pivot – which will push specific apps alongside original content from guest contributors – the webOS developer program is also being updated to sport new app pricing policies.

"We love the TouchPad and the webOS platform for game development," added CTO Collomb.

"It's built from the ground up for seamless connectivity between devices and it's an open platform, which makes development that much easier."