Feedback from ID@Xbox:

Chris Charla, Microsoft’s Director of ID@Xbox has this to say about my blog post: “That’s pretty good! Did you mention the free dev kits and the retail -> dev kit transition?”. In response to his feedback, I’ve updated the content, using quotes from Xbox News and Xbox Corporate VP Mark Whitten.

Updated Post:

Some of you may know that I am heading to Microsoft HQ in Redmond to attend the upcoming Xbox One Developer Summit, aka ID@Seattle. This is the first dev summit to welcome the new crop of developers who have signed up for ID@Xbox, the Xbox One’s Indie Developer Program.

I’ve signed an NDA for this event, and will not be revealing any confidential information during/after the event. So, I’ve put together the information below from everything that has already been announced in public.

Xbox One Timeline and Useful Info

• May 21: Xbox One Reveal: http://youtu.be/L0HgsIf-ps4
• June 10-14: More details at E3: http://www.xbox.com/e3
• July: Kinect 2 dev kits: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindowsdev/newdevkit.aspx
• August 20: ID@Xbox announced: http://news.xbox.com/2013/08/gamescom-indie
• Late August: Kinect 2 dev kit confirmations sent out
• August/September: IGN’s “Ask MS anything about Xbox One”: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/05/ask-microsoft-anything-about-xbox-one
• August/September: Some indie devs start receiving NDA and acceptance into ID@Xbox.
• September: Xbox One Developer Summit (ID@Seattle) announced: https://twitter.com/ID_Xbox/status/384735127076470784
• Early October: RSVP confirmations sent out for ID@Seattle: https://twitter.com/ID_Xbox/status/385575619817271296
• Oct 4: I created a new Facebook group: http://facebook.com/XboxOneIndieDevs
• mid-October: NDA emails sent out for ID@Seattle: https://twitter.com/ID_Xbox/status/389842030496473088
• Oct 25: ID@Seattle begins!

So, how should you prepare for Xbox One development?

Here are a few things you should know:

• We know that “The program will offer developers access to development kits at no charge and an easy path for developers to build, publish and sell their games on Xbox One.”, according to Xbox News.
• In the near future, “… the box you get at retail can be a dev kit, period… Everyone will be able to self-publish content.”, according to Xbox Corporate VP Mark Whitten.
• Apparently, “Games are games are games” so all games will be in a single marketplace. This includes traditional retail games, polished indie games (previously housed in XBLA) and the bargain-bin of indie games (formerly XBLIG).
• Just like professional Xbox One developers, we can expect “Achievements, Gamerscore, Kinect, Xbox SmartGlass, Xbox cloud services and more“
• We know that Windows8 games can be built in C++ and DirectX, so this could be an option
• Simpler Windows8 games can also be built in HTML5 and JavaScript, but that is unlikely to be an option for Xbox One
• Finally, we’ve heard that Unity will be available for Xbox One developers
• The dev summit will be packed, and it may be broadcast via Twitch (TBD) but attendees all have to sign an NDA, so I’m not sure how this will work for remote viewers.

What’s Next

If you want to speculate and try to get a step ahead, start learning C++ and DirectX or Unity.

• Win8 game development with C++ and DirectX: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh465149.aspx
• Unity download: http://unity3d.com/unity/download

While you wait for more public information, here is an interview with Chris Charla, Director of ID@Xbox:

• Chris Charla interview on Edge Online: http://www.edge-online.com/features/chris-charla-on-idxbox-microsofts-bid-to-harness-the-power-of-indie-games-on-xbox-one/

Enjoy! 🙂

Shahed Chowdhuri

OnekSoft Games