Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Microsoft XNA Game Studio
open-in-new
<h2 id="versions">Versions</h2> <h3>XNA Game Studio Express</h3> <p>XNA Game Studio Express, the first release of XNA Game Studio, was intended for students, hobbyists, and independent (and <a href="/facts/Homebrew_(video_games)/jtWcUfBo">homebrew</a>) game developers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> It was available as a free download. Express provides basic "starter kits" for rapid development of specific genres of games, such as <a href="/facts/Platform_game/KJnmd0Il">platform games</a>, <a href="/facts/Real-time_strategy/0xmCAUgz">real-time strategy</a>, and <a href="/facts/First-person_shooter/LQQX6yAw">first-person shooters</a>. Developers could create <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a> games for free with the XNA Framework, but to run their games on the Xbox 360 they will have to pay an annual fee of US$99 (or a four-month fee of US$49) for admission to the Microsoft XNA Creator's Club. The initial release had no way of shipping precompiled binaries to other Xbox 360 players, but this was changed in "XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 Refresh" which made it possible to compile Xbox 360 binaries and share them with other Microsoft XNA Creator's Club members. </p><p>The first beta version of XNA Game Studio Express was released for download on August 28, 2006 followed by a second version on November 1, 2006. Microsoft released the final version on December 11, 2006.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>On April 24, 2007, Microsoft released an update called XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 Refresh.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h3>XNA Game Studio 2.0</h3> <p>XNA Game Studio 2.0 was released on December 13, 2007.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> XNA Game Studio 2.0 features the ability to be used with all versions of <a href="/facts/Visual_Studio_2005/omNe6Lej">Visual Studio 2005</a> (including the free <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Visual_C_Sharp/UC2gxeyb">Visual C# 2005 Express Edition</a>),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> a networking API using <a href="/facts/Xbox_Live/mRsUYTYf">Xbox Live</a> on both Windows and Xbox 360 and better device handling.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h3>XNA Game Studio 3.0</h3> <p>XNA Game Studio 3.0 (for Visual Studio 2008 or the free Visual C# 2008 Express Edition) allows production of games targeting the <a href="/facts/Zune/qbvKhe1R">Zune</a> platform and adds <a href="/facts/Xbox_Live/mRsUYTYf">Xbox Live</a> community support. A <a href="/facts/Betaware/z4Q4RElA">beta</a> of the toolset was released in September 2008.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> The final release was released on October 30, 2008. XNA Game Studio 3.0 now supports C# 3.0, LINQ and most versions of Visual Studio 2008. There are several more new features of XNA Game Studio 3.0 also, such as a trial Mode added to XNA Game Studio 3.0 that will enable creators to easily add the required trial feature to their games, Xbox LIVE multi-player features like in-game invites, create cross-platform games that work on Windows, Xbox 360 and Zune. </p> <h3>XNA Game Studio 3.1</h3> <p>XNA Game Studio 3.1 was released on June 11, 2009. The API includes support for video playback, a revised audio API, Xbox LIVE Party system and support for games to use the Xbox 360 Avatars.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h3>XNA Game Studio 4.0</h3> <p>XNA Game Studio 4.0 was announced and initially released as a "Community Technical Preview" at <a href="/facts/Game_Developers_Conference/G8WBDbyW">Game Developers Conference</a> (GDC) on March 9, 2010, and in its final form on September 16, 2010.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> It adds support for the <a href="/facts/Windows_Phone/khEg0rGT">Windows Phone</a> platform (including 3D hardware acceleration), framework hardware profiles, configurable effects, built-in state objects, graphics device scalars and orientation, cross-platform and <a href="/facts/Multi-touch/DP71Xsqj">multi-touch</a> input, microphone input and buffered audio playback, and <a href="/facts/Visual_Studio_2010/omNe6Lej">Visual Studio 2010</a> integration.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p><p>XNA "Game Studio 4.0 Refresh" was released on 6 October 2011.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> This added support for Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango), support for <a href="/facts/Visual_Basic/7QMXM6fP">Visual Basic</a>, and also bug fixes. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/GameMaker/u8lCgYkR">GameMaker</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Adobe_Flash_Professional/zxVXv0mQ">Adobe Flash Professional</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Haxe/jp87sM7P">Haxe</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Miller, Tom (2010-12-12). XNA Game Studio 4.0 Programming: Developing for Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360. Pearson Education. ISBN 9780132620130. <a href="9780132620130" target="_blank">9780132620130</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>James, Sean (2010-12-14). 3D Graphics with Xna Game Studio 4.0. Packt Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781849690058. <a href="9781849690058" target="_blank">9781849690058</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Perry, Jim (2009-06-23). RPG Programming with XNA Game Studio 3.0. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9781449631505. <a href="9781449631505" target="_blank">9781449631505</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"XNA Game Studio". Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2007-03-20. <a href="https://archive.today/20130103214623/http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/aa937794.aspx" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130103214623/http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/aa937794.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Perry, Jim (2010-10-25). Essential XNA Game Studio 2.0 Programming. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9781449633608. <a href="9781449633608" target="_blank">9781449633608</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Carter, Chad (2009-02-25). Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0 Unleashed. Pearson Education. ISBN 9780768688481. <a href="9780768688481" target="_blank">9780768688481</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Microsoft kills XNA". ExtremeTech. February 1, 2013. <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/147289-microsoft-kills-xbox-360pc-cross-platform-development-declares-directx-no-longer-evolving" target="_blank">http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/147289-microsoft-kills-xbox-360pc-cross-platform-development-declares-directx-no-longer-evolving</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>XNA Game Studio Express Archived 2008-05-05 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/aa937795.aspx" target="_blank">http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/aa937795.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Gamefest announcement of XNA Game Studio Express Archived 2006-08-20 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/aug06/08-13XNAGameStudioPR.mspx" target="_blank">http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/aug06/08-13XNAGameStudioPR.mspx</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"XNA game studio express 1.0 refresh released". XNA Team Blog. Microsoft. 24 April 2007. <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/04/24/xna-game-studio-express-1-0-refresh-released.aspx" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/04/24/xna-game-studio-express-1-0-refresh-released.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>XNA Creators Club Online – quick start guide Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://creators.xna.com/Education/GettingStarted.aspx" target="_blank">http://creators.xna.com/Education/GettingStarted.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>XNA Tutorial <a href="http://www.xnatutorial.com/" target="_blank">http://www.xnatutorial.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>XNA Team Blog : XNA Game Studio 2.0 Released <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/12/13/xna-game-studio-2-0-released.aspx" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2007/12/13/xna-game-studio-2-0-released.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>XNA Creators Club Online - xna game studio 3.0 beta Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://creators.xna.com/en-us/3.0beta_mainpage" target="_blank">http://creators.xna.com/en-us/3.0beta_mainpage</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Dream Build Play '09/XNA Game Studio 3.1 Announcement Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://creators.xna.com/en-US/news/dbpandxnags31" target="_blank">http://creators.xna.com/en-US/news/dbpandxnags31</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"xna game studio 4.0 available for download!". XNA Game Studio Team Blog. Microsoft. September 16, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2010. <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/xna/archive/2010/09/16/xna-game-studio-4-0-available-for-download.aspx" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/b/xna/archive/2010/09/16/xna-game-studio-4-0-available-for-download.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"What's New in XNA Game Studio 4.0". MSDN. Microsoft. Retrieved September 16, 2010. <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb417503.aspx" target="_blank">http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb417503.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh". Downloads. Microsoft. October 6, 2011. <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27599" target="_blank">http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27599</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>