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GDC 2017: Xbox Live Creators Program Announced

Welcoming all developers to publish to Xbox One and Windows 10.

Donovan Erskine

March 1, 2017 2:10 PM

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Soon, anyone who seeks to develop games with Live functionality for Xbox One or Windows 10 will be able to do so. Microsoft’s new program will allow creators to publish games with a quick and simple certification process.

This news comes from the Microsoft press conference at GDC 2017. The company states that with this new program, anyone will be able to “integrate Xbox Live social experiences such as sign-in, presence, leaderboards, and more” into their title. Xbox’s social features will also naturally help grow your audience, potentially grabbing the attention of up to 55 million active gamers. Games published using the program will be filed under a new section titled “Creator Games Section” within the store.

Creators will be able to manipulate existing code to develop titles, using their retail Xbox One console. As of now, Construct 2, MonoGame, Unity, and Xenko are the different game engines that will be supported when the creators program begins. Microsoft is confident that more engines will become apart of the program overtime, and encourages developers to check with their preferred engines to see if they plan on supporting the new program.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_