In a bid to promote video game development, Microsoft just gave its GDK (Game Development Kit) on GitHub for free. The move is quite welcoming in the wake of recent developments in the video game industry.
Moreover, it seems like Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned in its plan to expand its gaming business. With Xbox Game Pass getting better with its library and giving away its own game development kit for free on GitHub looks like things could very well turn in Microsoft’s favor with this one.
Microsoft GDK Explained
The GDK by Microsoft is a base game development kit that is used by many developers. However, up until now, the kit wasn’t free of cost. The game development kit was only available to approved partners who were building games for the Xbox ecosystem.
The Microsoft GDK (game development kit) in the talk is not a game development engine. Rather, it contains tools to help developers build a video game. The Microsoft GDK is a collection of tools, libraries, and documentation for developers. GDK helps them build a game regardless of the platform, be it PC, cloud, console, or mobile.
This is great news for upcoming and current developers and the ones looking for game development toolkits without spending money. While Microsoft has certainly made things a bit easier for developers by giving its game development kit for free on GitHub, there’s a catch.
If a developer wants to publish a game developed using Microsoft’s game development kit on the Xbox app store, they’ll have to sign an agreement with Microsoft. The developers will need to apply for an Xbox partners program, which will grant them the license to publish games on the Xbox app store.
In addition, the decision to give away the GDK on GitHub for free seems like an initial step in getting more people interested in game development. Moreover, here’s the link to the free GDK on GitHub.
