Got a blistering game idea burning its way through your cerebral cortex? Got a bunch o' million pounds under your bed, ready to make it a reality? Well, thanks to Microsoft, that financial burden just got a lot lighter with the announcement of its XNA Game Studio Express, a new set of Xbox 360 game tools based on the XNA platform.
As Microsoft puts it, XNA Game Studio Express "will democratize game development by delivering the necessary tools to hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios alike to help them bring their creative game ideas to life while nurturing game development talent, collaboration and sharing that will benefit the entire industry". Or, as the ever sound bite-orientated Peter Moore would have it, "It's our first step of creating a YouTube for videogames." Moore noted that while anyone is free to publish their games via 360, content will be screened for appropriateness and any potential legal infringements.
Anyone using a Windows XP-based PC will be eligible to receive the XNA Game Studio Express tools for free, while a mere $99 ensures membership to Microsoft's "creators club", enabling subscribers to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360. According to Moore, the tools are basic compared to their professionally-orientated counterparts, with only "rudimentary" games possible - a second set of XNA tools, Game Studio Professional, is set for release early next year, designed specifically with the needs of professional developers in mind.
Speaking at Gamefest 2006, Chris Satchell, general manager of Microsoft's Game Developer Group, enthused, "XNA Game Studio Express will ignite innovation and accelerate prototyping, forever changing the way games are developed. By unlocking retail Xbox 360 consoles for community-created games, we are ushering in a new era of cross-platform games based on the XNA platform. We are looking forward to the day when all the resulting talent-sharing and creativity transforms into a thriving community of user-created games on Xbox 360."
A beta version of XNA Game Studio Express will be available from August 30, with the final version releasing by the end of the year.
