XNA Game Studio Express was released early this morning fulfilling the team's promise to deliver before Christmas. With the Express edition you can create games for both the Xbox 360 console and the Windows platform which run on top of the .NET Framework runtime engine.
The Framework is built on top of the .NET 2.0 Compact Framework and targetted specifically at game development designed to promote code reuse. The XNA Framework supports only the C# programming language and is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and the Xbox 360.
In order for developers to access their Xbox 360, they must first own a subscription to the XNA Creators Club. To purchase a subscription to the XNA Creators Club use Xbox Live Marketplace on the Xbox 360 console with an active silver or gold Xbox Live subscription.
From the XNA team on the exact steps:
- On the Xbox Live blade, go to "Xbox Live Marketplace"
- Select "Games" and then "All Game Downloads"
- Scroll down the list to find the "XNA Creators Club"
- Here you'll be able to go under Memberships to purchase a 4-Mo membership for $49.00 or an Annual (12-mo) membership $99.00. The prices used here reflect the subscription rates for the United States and pricing may differ for your local region or country if outside the USA.
- You'll also need to download the XNA Game Launcher from the same area. Having done so, you will find a new XNA Game Launcher program on your Games blade under Demos and More.
Now developers can create games for the Xbox 360 and even play them in the same day on their own console.