Games have always been one of the most technically complex forms of media created. They are limited only by creators' imagination and their ability to translate that vision to reality through technology. We want to enable any creator, anywhere on the planet, to make games for our ecosystem. And, to help with that we've made the Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK)
available on GitHub, free of charge!
The GDK is the same base development kit used by hundreds of game creators today and was previously only available to approved partners building for the Xbox ecosystem. The GDK contains the common tools, libraries, and documentation needed for developers, it's the future of the Xbox ecosystem across all platforms—PC, cloud, mobile, and console.
By using the GDK, creators will get a head start on their game development based on a technical foundation that will also allow them to unlock functionalities to integrate with the Xbox ecosystem like commerce, achievements, multiplayer and more. Access to publish on the Xbox ecosystem of stores is still private, following common industry licensing practices. Completing the journey to publish a game to the Xbox store on Windows – directly or through the Game Pass program – involves applying to qualify for an Xbox partners program, signing a license agreement, and configuring gaming services. Interested creators can check out the
ID@Xbox program for more information.
Enabling creators of all shapes and sizes to create high quality games is core to our team. This entails delivering tools that developers can use to build games for multiple platforms on multiple engines including tools to create games, programs to help distribute games, services to monetize and commercialize games, and the power to retain, grow, and scale games. Learn more by checking out our recent
Game Stack Live event.
Our mission is to democratize game development to generate a diverse, rich portfolio of content our gaming audiences will love, and to create opportunities for all communities to share their stories through games. Making the GDK publicly available is the first step in that journey. We invite you to
try out the GDK,
check out the documentation, and
get started building games today on GitHub.
