Microsoft Game Dev

Successful Xbox Game Launch
Whats New in Microsoft Game Development Tools and Services
GDC 2025 ID Developer Profile

Xbox at GDC 2026: Build for What’s Next

The future of Xbox starts now.

What’s New in Q4 2025 (October-December)

Teams across Microsoft have been busy rolling out a number of tools, documents, and samples to help you optimize your game development process.

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What's New in Microsoft Game Dev Tools and Services

Unlocking Access to Game Publishing Documentation for All Developers

We’re removing barriers to learning and making it easier for teams of all sizes to understand what it takes to ship a game on Xbox.

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Find your solution

Develop

Create bold, immersive game experiences that attract and engage players.

AI for Gaming Azure for Game Development Develop for Xbox Consoles and PC Game Development with .NET

Distribute

Build, deploy, and scale cross-platform online services to better run your game.

Distribution ID@Xbox Publishing Microsoft Store Publishing Xbox Play Anywhere

Grow

Reach millions by distributing and monetizing your games with Microsoft.

LiveOps Monetization Player Engagement Product Inclusion & Accessibility

Development tools for every platform

Explore the many best-in-class Microsoft game development tools available to help you build games more easily, and efficiently.

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Latest from the Microsoft Game Dev Blog

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Introducing Handheld Compatibility

Evaluate how PC games will scale to a handheld, with a focus on controller input, iconography, text input, display resolution, and legibility

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What’s New in Microsoft Game Development Tools and Services

Check out an overview of the latest updates to Microsoft Game Development tools and services.

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New Handheld Code Samples Released

These samples provide best practices and code examples that can be integrated into your games when considering Windows gaming handheld scenarios.

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Developer resources

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Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK)

Learn how to use the Game Development Kit (GDK) to develop games on Xbox and Windows.

PlayFab

Develop a LiveOps strategy and learn how to build engaging games using Microsoft PlayFab services.

Xbox Services

Add and enable Xbox services, a premier gaming network that connects millions of gamers across the world.

Accessibility Guidelines

Learn to employ best practices developed by industry experts and members of the Gaming & Disability Community.

Solutions to reach players everywhere

Learn about ID@Xbox self-publishing, Game Pass subscriptions, and Xbox Cloud Gaming to discover the distribution solution that’s right for you.

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Distribution success stories

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Putting Your Game at the Center with Xbox Touch Controls

Xbox touch controls unlock new ways for gamers to interact with their games, providing fans with even more choice.

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Game developers everywhere: welcome to Windows 11!

Windows 11 was made for gaming, with new features designed to help creators take their creativity to new heights.

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Hi-Rez launches latest Rogue Company game with Azure

Hi-Rez launches latest Rogue Company game with Azure, confident in scalability, performance

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Distribution resources

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Partner Center Overview

Learn how Microsoft partners manage their relationship with Microsoft and their customers.

Xbox Creator’s Program

Fast publish your game to Xbox.

Publishing Windows Apps

What you need to create a submission and get your app certified.

Game Streaming Introduction

Get started setting up your title for Xbox Game Streaming and Xbox Remote Play.

Solutions to grow player engagement

Discover tools, systems, and strategies to grow player engagement, develop active communities, and host vibrant in-game marketplaces. Find the right tech stack to help you expand into new markets and reach new audiences at scale.

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Growth success stories

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Customer Story

Why should a single player game have a backend?

How to use PlayFab Telemetry, Analytics, and LiveOps to extend the lifespan of your game and re-engage your players.

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Customer Story

Record-breaking Fall Guys scales faster with Azure

Fall Guys exceeded all expectations at launch...Azure provided all the reassurance we needed to scale elastically

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Customer Story

How to Implement Real-time Analytics in Online Games

Welcome back to the LiveOps Academy part 4 where we dive into some analytics best practices.

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Growth resources

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PlayFab Engagement

Quickstart guides and tutorials on tools that you can use to engage your player community and keeping them coming back.

PlayFab Data

A set of tools for data analytics, storage, processing, and exports.

PlayFab Analytics

How to set-up experiments, metrics, reports, and segmentation.

PlayFab User Generated Content

Empower your players to create, upload, and search for moderated content.

Powering your games, empowering you to do more

Discover how Microsoft can help you develop, distribute, and grow your game.

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PlayFab

Havok

Simplygon

Visual Studio

ID@Xbox

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Discord

Get into the more technical side of game development with our discipline and problem-specific chat rooms manned by experts.

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Bluesky

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