FEATURED ARTICLE
Satya Nadella meets the next generation of UK game makers
The Microsoft CEO reaffirmed the commitment to supporting the next generation of games industry talent.
From the Microsoft Game Dev blog
From the Microsoft Game Dev blog
Xbox Launches “Project Amplify”
The project support black youth interested in gaming industry careers.
Pathfinding: Communication across disciplines is vital
Learn how Naoko Takamoto navigated her career from contract musician to QA Lead to Senior Producer.
Register now for Xbox Discovery Day – Atlanta on Sept. 23
Calling all aspiring and independent game developers who want to learn more about ID@Xbox program.
Join Xbox at the Game Devs of Color Expo from Sept. 15 - 18
Xbox hosting virtual career booth at Game Devs of Color Expo, featuring AMAs from Xbox developers.
Azure PlayFab Economy v2 is now in Public Preview
Check out the same cloud economy system that powers Minecraft, Sea of Thieves, and Flight Simulator.
Project Acoustics 3.0 is now available
Build immersive audio experiences using the latest version of Project Acoustics with support for Unreal Engine 5.
Pathfinding: Designing music narratives at Xbox Game Studios
Hear from Sr Music Supervisor Maya Halfon Cordova about how she contributes to storytelling in games through music.
Microsoft and Unity Partner to Empower Creators with Azure
Unity selects Azure as its cloud partner and enables creators to reach their audiences on Xbox and PC.
The June Game Development Kit (GDK) is Available Now
The June GDK release is an exciting one, with something for every type of game developer.
Xbox @ SIGGRAPH
Get an opportunity to hear first-hand stories and experiences from our diverse Xbox teams.
Azure Game Production Pipeline: Create Games on the Cloud
Replace your local workstations with the Game Development VM or migrate the whole pipeline to Azure.
ID@Azure Program Update
A great start!
Pathfinding: From drums to Director of Licensing at Turn 10
Discover how Kim Williams-Osborne transitioned from professional drummer to licensing for the Forza franchises.
Imagine Cup Champions Use Azure to Advance Robotic Rehab
Imagine Cup winners Team V Bionic share how they are using Azure IOT Hub and the inspiration behind their project.
Azure PlayFab roadmap
Here's the latest roadmap updates for PlayFab
Empowering Creators
Sarah Bond, CVP, Game Creator Experience & Ecosystem, shares how Microsoft is helping creators.
Xbox is Building the Gaming Platform for the Next 20 Years
At the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, look at the amazing line-up of games coming to Xbox, PC, and cloud
Creating for everyone: How to make more accessible games
Sarah Bond shares at the Microsoft Ability Summit why accessibility in gaming is so critical
Forza Horizon 5 crosses the finish line, fueled by AKS
FH5 relies on autoscaling Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters to meet the most challenging performance demands.
Lana Lux: Twitch Live-Coder and Creator of Strain
Meet Lana Lux, a game developer, designer, Twitch streamer and invested in an accessible, supportive community
Azure PlayFab Feature Video Series
The PlayFab Feature Series consists of short videos to introduce the sampling of many PlayFab features
Welcome to Season 3 of The Art of LiveOps
In each episode we sit down with game creators working at the cutting edge of LiveOps
Improving access to healthcare through games
See the inspiring projects of Team En#Megical and Team Makara Tech, two of this year's Imagine Cup World Finalists.
Pathfinding: How Decoy Games inspired this series
Meet Decoy Games founders Ahmed and Khalil Abdullah
Pathfinding: Career Advice from Women in Game Marketing
A new blog series called Pathfinding, highlighting a diverse set of people across many disciplines.
Using Azure and neuroscience to improve visual accessibility
Team VueForAll wants to see a more scientific, data-driven approach to addressing visual accessibility in gaming.
Escape the dungeon: A gamified approach to programming
This pair of developers teaches young players the basics of programming through a game using flow charts.
Microsoft at GDC: Powering Games, Empowering Creators
Microsoft is committed to powering games and empowering the game creators who make them across any platform.
Introducing ID@Azure: Your Journey in the Cloud Starts Today
Today we are announcing a new program Microsoft has launched to help independent game creators use the cloud.
Game Creation Cloud Adoption and The Azure Game Dev VM
The Azure Game Dev VM opens the door for game developers to take full advantage of game production in the cloud.
ID@Azure: Level Up your Game Development with Azure PlayFab
Developers in ID@Azure will receive two years of the PlayFab Standard Plan as well as free multiplayer services.
Microsoft + Perforce: Reimagining Game Production
Perforce + Azure partnership on GitHub; announcing the new GitHub actions, recalling the Enhanced Studio Pack
Start using Azure services with ID@Azure
ID@Azure helps you focus on cloud-based solutions that make sense regardless of the type of game you are making.
Unreal Engine VMs on Azure: Latest in Realtime 3D Revolution
By deploying a hosted virtual machine with Unreal Engine, the Azure cloud is your GPU.
How Hello Games uses Azure to bring No Man’s Sky to millions
Our partners are using Azure to help them realise their dreams, and one such partner is Hello Games.
Parsec remote desktop is now available on Azure
Parsec is an low-latency, high-performance remote desktop that connects teams to their projects wherever they are.
Variable Rate Compute Shaders on Xbox Series X|S
This second talk from Martin is on Variable Rate Compute Shaders (VRCS) with a focus on Xbox Series consoles.
Azure DDoS Protection in Gaming: A Look at Attack Trends
The gaming industry experienced an unprecedented level of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) activity in 2021.
Variable Rate Shading, Tales from the Trenches on Series X|S
Martin Fuller from Microsoft’s Advanced Technology Group will show you how and when to use VRS in your development.
The Fundamentals of Azure PlayFab
Learn the basics of Azure PlayFab and how it can be used to makes games more engaging for players.
How Simplygon Enables Large Scale Optimization in Flight Sim
The vast view distances and detailed landmarks makes asset optimization strategy a very important part of the game.
Spotlighting Brent Batas, founder & creator of Legion TD 2
Our next ambassador profile puts the spotlight on Brent Batas, a designer, coder, and PlayFab expert.
Maciej Maj: PlayFab 'tutorialist' and maker of Tube Tycoon
Maciej publishes Unity+PlayFab tutorials, makes his own games, and has almost 500,000 views as a content creator.
Extending PlayFab with a Match History
In his last post, Johannes talked about extending PlayFab with Azure Functions. Here, he expands on this topic.
Meet Mandy Lowry, a game developer, coder, and co-founder
Check out the experience of a talented, self-taught programmer that recently launched a new game.
Reacting to PlayFab PlayStream Events with Azure Functions
How can you leverage Azure PlayFab's PlayStream to extend your game's functionality and react to events?
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
How to transfer large files in a distributed environment
Set up your modern game studio for file share sync with Azure
New Unreal GSDK Plugin simplifies Azure MPS deployment
Using this new plugin, customers can more easily upload Unreal builds to MPS.
Meet engineer and indie studio founder Attilio Carotenuto
Welcome to our series highlighting Game Dev Ambassadors! Our first ambassador spotlights Attilio Carotenuto.
How an indie went from rock bottom to making hit games
Hear how James Stone made his long-time dream of making video games a reality.
Venturing deeper into the world of Simplygon SDK
Poly is back in the park, with complete tutorials to help you get started navigating the Simplygon SDK.
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.
Manage Events with Sampling on Azure PlayFab
Sampling lets you to configure the percentage of events data that you want to receive in the title tenant database.
Announcing CloudScript using Azure Functions is now GA
After over a year in public preview, CloudScript Functions is ready for primetime.
Microsoft & La Guilde – Azure PlayFab for Game Developers
Hear how PlayFab provides the comprehensive ecosystem to empower creators to build, run, and nurture their games.
PlayFab Roadmap Update – November 2021
Here is the latest coming from PlayFab for developers as we approach the end of the year.
Announcing Unreal Engine Pixel Streaming in Azure!
The Unreal Engine Pixel Streaming solution on Azure is helping developers reach more people from nearly any device.
Microsoft acquires Two Hat, leader in content moderation
We’re excited to announce Microsoft’s acquisition of Two Hat, a leader in content moderation solutions.
Tips and Tricks: Making Your First Console Game, Pt. II
Hear from more indie developers about their experiences on making their first console games.
Announcing Azure PlayFab User Generated Content
Azure PlayFab UGC offers time-saving, battle-tested solutions for hosting an in-game marketplace.
Improving developer inner-loops with C++ Modules
In this blog we show how to create a small game project, analyze its components, modularize it, and execute.
Tips and Tricks from ID@Xbox: Making Your First Console Game
Hear from indie developers on their experiences of making some of their very first console games.
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.
Unique Capabilities added by the Simplygon UE4 Plugin
This blog details what unique capabilities our UE4 plugin has to offer your game production.
Xbox and Gyeonggi Partner to Host Game Dev Camp in Korea
Game Camp Korea is the second Game Camp hosted by Xbox Game Studios.
Level Up Your Debugging Skills for Unity with Visual Studio
Here we focus on common Unity troubleshooting scenarios and how you can use Visual Studio to find and fix them.
A walk in the park with Poly: Simplygon SDK
A part of the Microsoft Game Stack family, Simplygon is for world makers, artists, and creators.
Address Sanitizer now available for Xbox Developers
(ASan) is a valuable tool for lighting up hard-to-find memory bugs
PlayFab Roadmap Update – July 2021
Latest roadmap updates for PlayFab
Meet the Microsoft Game Developer Kit (GDK)
Microsoft Game Development Kits available to all developers today
Microsoft Flight Simulator: The Future of Game Development
Cloud-Powered Microsoft Flight Simulator Showcases the Future of Next-Gen Game Development
Microsoft at GDC 2021: Tackling game dev’s tough challenges
Game Developers Conference design
PlayFab’s PlayStream now powered by Azure
PlayFab’s PlayStream bids farewell to AWS, now powered by Azure
Perforce development tools and services available on Azure
Game creators now have access to Perforce development tools and services running on Azure
Diablo IV debugs Linux core dumps from Visual Studio
Blizzard Diablo IV debugs Linux core dumps from Visual Studio
Next Gen Immersive Audio: Spatial Sound & Project Acoustics
This presentation will explore how we can take immersive audio to the next level in our games.
Azure Cosmos DB: Build Lightning Fast Games
Azure Cosmos DB: Build Lightning Fast Games with High-availability and Massive Scale
Session Spotlight: The Xbox Accessibility Guidelines
Xbox made history when it became the first platform to publish its own set of accessibility guidelines.
Case Study: Minecraft Dungeons Cloud Gaming Experience
Transforming Minecraft Dungeons into a Great Cloud Gaming experience
Session Spotlight: How to Test Gameplay With Data
How to Test Gameplay With Data: A Telemetry-driven Process to Boost Confidence at Scale
Session Spotlight: Xbox Velocity Architecture
Game Stack Live is coming up! Game Stack Live is about helping game developers like you better build, run, and grow
Session Spotlight: Accelerating DirectX Innovation
Game Stack Live is coming up! Our first spotlight post features a talk from our Graphics track.
Simplygon Free adds support for Unity, Blender, & Python API
Simplygon Free adds support for Unity, Blender and Python API
How Minecraft Realms moved compute+storage from AWS to Azure
How Minecraft Realms moved its compute and storage from AWS to Azure
Game Stack Live is loading
Game Stack Live is back and coming in hot! You asked for more technical talks, you got it. You wanted more partners
Visibility Culling Through Generated Cameras in Max
There are often cases when there is limited visibility in a scene...
Alice & Smith integrate PlayFab and Twitch API in NT4
Alice & Smith integrates PlayFab and Twitch API to create shareable, viral missions for NITE Team 4 fans
Comparing Material Casting and Aggregation
In Simplygon, you have two different options when it comes to transferring materials.
What to Think About When it Comes to LOD Transitions
At Simplygon it has always been one of our priorities, to enable you to use the Simplygon SDK as an automation tool
Building Arbitrary Video Game Projects on Azure
Building Arbitrary Video Game Projects on Azure
What's New in Simplygon 9.1
In this article we'll walking you through the Simplygon 9.1 updates.
Introducing Simplygon's New Unreal Engine Plugin
With the release of 9.1, we are happy to announce our new Unreal Engine plugin.
Imposter: Billboard Cloud for Vegetation (Simplygon)
The goal of the billboard cloud processor is to replace objects in a scene with a view independent set of billboard
Billboard Cloud Mode: Outer Shell (Simplygon)
The Billboard mode: Outer shell makes the planes fit to the outer borders of objects
Pixel Streaming and the Growth of 3D outside of Gaming
Project Anywhere, Pixel Streaming, and the Growth of 3D outside Gaming
How Minecraft Realms moved its databases from AWS to Azure
In this post, we deep dive into how the Realms team moved all its database components to Azure.
The Coalition Sees 27.9X Build Improvement w/ VS 2019
The Coalition Sees 27.9X Iteration Build Improvement with Visual Studio 2019
Build for the web with ASP.NET (For Unity developers)
Learn how to build for the web with your existing C# skills.
New PlayFab Pricing Plan with No Monthly Minimums
Today we’re introducing a new Pay-as-you-Go plan for PlayFab which requires no minimum monthly commitment.
Starting today: Save up to 90% using PlayFab Party
Big news! We are dropping the price of Azure PlayFab Party, significantly reducing barriers for developers
Migrating Minecraft Realms from AWS to Azure
Stay tuned for the upcoming blog series about the successful migration of Minecraft Realms from AWS to Azure.
MineRL sample-efficient reinforcement learning challenge
MineRL sample-efficient reinforcement learning challenge—back for a second year—benefits organizers
PlayFab Pricing Update: Transition Period extended
Usage-based Pricing Update: Transition Period extended through October 31, 2020
Kick it old school with Game Stack
Game Stack and Anstream Arcade are teaming up for an exclusive tournament
Welcome to Season 2 of The Art of LiveOps
It’s an exciting time to work in games. The barriers that prevent people from playing together are coming down.
Research Spotlight: Project Acoustics
The closer you listen as you move about the world, the more detail and nuance you can hear.
The Art of LiveOps Season 1 Recap
About a year ago we launched a new podcast The Art of LiveOps.
Supercharge games with Azure AI and reinforcement learning
Azure offers a full range of AI solutions to help you build, run and grow your games.
What the Future of Gaming Means for Developers
For those of us in the games industry, we've always understood the incredible power of gaming.
Join us for Game Stack Live on August 3rd
The next Game Stack Live is currently loading.
How Project xCloud is helping game developers stay connected
How Project xCloud is helping game developers stay connected while working from home
Esports players gain an edge with Azure and Power BI
Competitive esports organization Cloud9 fields 14 teams across 12 of the most popular esports.
Creating an online event in times of quarantine — part II
The cancellation of physical events in 2020 motivated us to come up with a new approach.
Enabling build access from home during COVID-19
COVID-19 has been challenging for many disciplines, and game development is no exception.
MCC Development Update - May 2020
Postums here again for another monthly update on all things MCC.
Making diversity a formidable force in State of Decay 2
Learn how Undead Labs created an incredibly diverse set of characters to fight the horde.
Minecraft Earth and Azure Cosmos DB part 2
This post is part 2 in a series about out how organizations are using Azure Cosmos DB to meet real world needs.
The devs of We Happy Few gave a shock to their own system
Discover how the team at Compulsion Games broke the rules of traditional procedural worldbuilding.
Obsidian’s gameplay design kept possibilities endless
See how Obsidian pioneered a new design approach resulting in a more balanced experience over the game's full arc.
Double Fine ensures their team’s ideas get a chance to float
See how Double Fine’s Amnesia Fortnight gives voice to the imaginations of the entire studio.
Minecraft Earth and Azure Cosmos DB part 1
This post is part 1 of a two-part series about how organizations use Azure Cosmos DB to meet real world needs.
Porting "Fusion Guards" from GameSparks to PlayFab (Part 2)
We are Janeious, an independent game development studio working on our community funded debut title “Fusion Guards”
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.
inXile wrangles a post-apocalyptic beast with Wasteland 3
Learn how inXile pushed the Wasteland series to its most-perfected combat system yet in Wasteland 3.
Porting "Fusion Guards" from GameSparks to PlayFab (Part 1)
We are Janeious, an independent game development studio working on our community funded debut title “Fusion Guards”
How Rare keeps Sea of Thieves afloat in a sea of feedback
See how Rare leverages player feedback to make Sea of Thieves even better.
Creating an online event in times of quarantine
Events are an important tool for Gameye.
Making sure everyone gets to kick it to the Swarm in Gears 5
Learn about how The Coalition challenged themselves to make Gears 5 as accessible as possible.
What’s Next for Xbox Game Bar
Since we introduced Xbox Game Bar, we’ve continually evolved it in partnership with you: our community.
Level Up with Azure PlayFab
Level up with Azure PlayFab and use the online services powering some of today’s biggest games.
Build vs. Buy - Which online service is right for my game
Whether you build yourself on Azure, or use a managed service with PlayFab, let us help you make the right decision
PlayFab @ Game Stack Live
During Game Stack Live we showcased PlayFab services used by Xbox Game Studios including Multiplayer & LiveOps
Build Cloud-Native Games with Aether Engine On Azure
Learn how to use Aether Engine with Microsoft Azure to realise the full potential of cloud gaming.
PlayFab and Gameye bring Azure closer to the player
Learn more about how Azure PlayFab and Gameye are bringing Azure closer to the player.
Project xCloud Developer Update: Making Games Cloud Aware
Imagine playing the games you want, with the people you want, anywhere you want. That's Xbox's aspiration.
Xbox Series X: A Closer Look at the Technology Power
The next generation of Xbox is defined by three primary characteristics: Power, Speed and Compatibility.
Bringing the community together with Game Stack Live
No matter where you are on your game development journey, we invite you to join us live or check out the recordings
The role of LiveOps in launching your game
Launch day can be a challenge, especially if a game is popular and needs to scale quickly to meet demand.
Running LiveOps
Understand what it means to practice LiveOps.
Save the dates: Game Stack Live schedule!
Join us March 17-18 on Mixer where we'll be livestreaming content we planned to share at Game Developers Conference
GDC and the wellbeing of our teams & community
Today, we’ve made a difficult decision to withdraw from participating at Game Developers Conference
Understanding LiveOps
Welcome to the LiveOps Academy blog series where we explore the art and science of LiveOps in video games.
Unlocking The Potential Of Cloud Gaming
CCP Games has been taking full advantage to cloud gaming’s new frontier to usher in a new era of their space MMO.
Azure PlayFab and Xbox better together
Azure PlayFab and Xbox have joined forces to empower game developers
Unite Copenhagen 2019 - Se dig der!
Microsoft Game Stack is headed to Denmark September 23-26
The Art of LiveOps Episode 2
Welcome to episode 2 of season 1 of the Art of LiveOps Podcast!
Roblox and Azure PlayFab Partnership
Azure PlayFab is partnering with Roblox to bring game analytics tools to top Roblox creators.
Game Stack at gamescom!
Microsoft Game Stack will be at gamescom. Come meet with us!
Introducing The Art of LiveOps Podcast
Join hosts James Gwertzman and Crystin Cox in the new podcast series The Art of LiveOps.
Gaming Must Promote and Protect the Safety of All
Today, in an opinion article I published on the Official Microsoft Blog, I shared my views on...
Sony and Microsoft to explore strategic partnership
Companies to collaborate on new cloud-based solutions for gaming experiences and AI solutions.
Achieve More With Microsoft Game Stack
With over 2 billion gamers in the world, there’s never been a better time to be a game developer.