Dave Horvath
14 Aug 2006 6:10
In a recent announcement following the Gamefest event in Seattle Washington, Microsoft has announced that it will roll out a new product entitled XNA Game Studio Express. Within this product, potential game developers can join what they're calling the Creator's Club
Members of the Creator's Club will pay a $99 yearly subscription fee and be granted access to a wealth of information and tools to help independent game developers, hobbyists and even the curious homebrew developer to create, design and share user-created games via Xbox Live!. Additionally, if a user so chooses to develop for Windows XP based PCs, tools will also be available for that and can be shared through other channels within the Creator's Club.
A Microsoft representative was quoted in saying the Creator's Club "...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."
User-created games will not be available for distribution to the public immediately, as Microsoft would like to test the service to monitor for potential hazards.
XNA Game Studio Express beta is expected to be released August 30, 2006 while the final version is planned to be launched around the holiday season.
Source:
Gamasutra