GameShark | PC | News | XNA Game Studio Express

Microsoft today announced that it is bringing a new set of tools, called XNA Game Studio Express, based on the XNA platform to developers of all stripes including hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios alike. The new suite of tools was announced during Gamefest 2006, a Microsoft game developer event hosted by Microsoft in Seattle.

The new technology, which will be broadly available this holiday season, 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 an annual subscription fee of $99 (U.S.), users will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360 and access a wealth of materials to help speed the game development progress. This represents the first significant opportunity for novice developers to make a console game without a significant investment in resources. A second XNA toolset geared toward game development professionals is scheduled to be available in spring 2007.

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