Tagged: xna game studio express

December 15, 2006

XNA Launches

Microsoft has launched the XNA Game Studio Express, allowing coders everywhere create their games for PC and Xbox 360. It is based on Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and the .Net Compact Framework, making game development easy.

The company also announced the launch of the XNA Creators Club on Xbox Live Marketplace; it is available for £30 for a four-month subscription, or £65 for an annual subscription. Those who subscribe will get access to thousands of game assets from Microsoft and its partners, as well as white papers, specialized starter kits, samples and technical product support.

In addition, they have also launched the “Dream-Build-Play” content for both PC and Xbox 360 users. The contest, which will be launched in January 2007, will offer the community the opportunity to showcase its work, with the winner’s game being published on Xbox Live Arcade. Further details can be found on the contest’s official website.

November 3, 2006

XNA Game Studio Express Beta 2 Released

The second beta for XNA Game Studio Express has been released by Microsoft, allowing hobbyists, academics and independent game developers the chance to create game content for both PC and Xbox 360.

This update adds the XNA Framework Content Pipeline, a feature set that makes it simpler and more straightforward for game developers to use 2D and 3D content from modeling software such as 3ds Max. There are also performance improvements and optimizations, as well as giving users the ability to preview and pre-compile their Xbox 360 games for the XNA Creators Club which is launching this December. The Club will let users upload and sell their games through Xbox Live Marketplace, letting gamers try out XNA games on their retail units. A one year membership will be available for £65 and a four-month trial will be available for £30.

The final version of XNA Game Studio Express is set to go live on December 11. A Professional edition will be available in Summer 2007.

August 15, 2006

(Almost) Free Xbox 360 Game Development for the Masses

Big budgets, time constraints got you down? Still want to develop for consoles? Microsoft has the answer for you in the form of XNA Game Studio Express. Aiming to bring console development to the masses, Microsoft will release a new set of tools based on the XNA platform, taking Xbox 360 development to hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios alike.

To be available this Holiday season, XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free to everyone with a Windows XP PC. All one will have to do is join a “creators club” for an annual subscription fee of $99 USD; here users will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360 and access material to help speed their game development progress.

College students across the United States will be able to get their hands on the tools as 10 universities and their game development schools have already joined the program. These include the University of Southern California, and Georgia Tech College of Computing and Southern Methodist University as they have pledged to integrate console game development and XNA Game Studio Express into their curricula for the first time.

The beta will be available on August 30 as a free download for Windows XP, with the final version to be available this Holiday season.