Create Xbox Console Games with XNA Game Studio Express

Ever thought of developing a Xbox 360 console game? Video game development was the domain of big software companies and developers. Now Microsoft lets you create your own Xbox games using the XNA Game Studio Express, based on the XNA platform.

At the Gamefest 2006, a Microsoft game developer event, they announced that the XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free to anyone with a Windows XP-based PC and will provide them with Microsoft’s next-generation platform for game development. By joining a “creators club” for $99/yr, users will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360 and access a stuff to help speed the game development progress.

The XNA Game Studio Express beta will be available Aug. 30, 2006, as a free download on Windows XP, for development on the Windows XP platform. XNA Game Studio Express will give anyone with a Windows XP-based PC access to a unified development tool that liberates the creation of great Xbox 360 and Windows XP-compatible games, providing a new alternative to the existing multithousand-dollar development kits that many console games require. The final version of XNA Game Studio Express will be available this holiday season.

Another good news for game developers is that universities are lining up to add XNA Game Studio Express and Xbox 360 game development into their curricula.