14 DAY TRIAL // The gold version of XNA Game Studio 3.0 is now available for download. Under the slogan “a community all about games, created by you, played by everyone,” version 3.0 of XNA Game Studio will integrate with Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3, and will allow game developers to create content not only for Windows, but also for Zune and Xbox 360.
“Our ultimate goal with XNA Game Studio 3.0 is to continue to provide easy-to-use, approachable tools for hobbyists, academics and indie game developers capable of producing the best games to be shared with the world on Xbox 360, Windows PC and Zune,” explained XNA Community Manager Kathleen Sanders.
With version 3.0, Microsoft has placed a great deal of emphasis on enabling developers to put together games designed for distribution through the Xbox LIVE Community Games on the Xbox 360, via the upcoming New Xbox Experience, scheduled to debut on November 11.
“After more than one month of beta-testing the new XNA 3.0 Version has been released on 30th October. Besides the “old” XNA 2.0 features, there are some really interesting new ones: compatibility with the upcoming Zune 3.0 Firmware release; improved deployment stability; new Content Compression features (saving space); ClickOnce functionality to package up games easily and upgrading XNA 2.0 Games easily to XNA 3.0.” revealed Lead Student Partner Basel, Adam Kortylewski.
In addition, developers will be able to create games that will allow users to test drive the product before making an acquisition. This will become possible with the new Trial Mode, which comes with XNA Game Studio 3.0. Microsoft has even boosted the Xbox LIVE multi-player in-game invites feature to the next level, in addition to making enhancements related to the integration with Visual Studio.
XNA Game Studio 3.0 is available for download here.