14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is offering the XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh as a free download to developers looking to build games for Xbox 360, Windows and Windows Phone.
As the official label implies, the release is an upgrade to version 4.0 of the XNA Game Studio 4.0. Obviously, there are some enhancements in XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh, compared to the plain vanilla XNA Game Studio 4.0.
According to the software giant, the refresh comes “to fix bugs and add support for developing games that target Windows Phone OS 7.1 and developing games in Visual Basic.”
Of course, when the Redmond company says Windows Phone 7.1, it actually means Windows Phone Mango, the latest release of the Windows platform for smartphones.
It’s important to note developers can already head over to MSDN and access extensive documentation on the XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh.
For those who aren’t familiar with this particular resource, the XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh programming environment is designed to work in concert with Visual Studio in order to support game development.
One of the most important additions to the XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh is support for Visual Basic, which developers can also leverage in order to put together their gaming projects.
In addition to the XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh, the company is also offering the XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0 Refresh through the Download Center.
“The XNA Framework Redistributable provides the necessary runtime components to execute a game on Windows that was developed using Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh. This release contains improved functionality as well as new features,” Microsoft said.
“Installation of this runtime is unnecessary on systems with Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh already installed. The Microsoft Software License Terms for Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh covers the terms under which developers may use the Redistributable.”
Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0 Refresh is available for download here.
Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0 Refresh is available for download here.