XNA Game Studio Express enables hobbyists, academics, and small, independent game developers to easily create video games for Windows and the Xbox 360 console using optimized cross-platform gaming libraries based on .NET. This release is an update of the 1.0 version which contains improved functionality along with new features. Check out exciting new features such as Bitmap Based Fonts, 3D Audio, Windows Vista support, Game Packaging and more! The What's New topic within the product documentation outlines the exciting new areas. Combined with an active membership in the XNA Creators Club (available from Xbox Live Marketplace), you can also create, debug, and play games on your Xbox 360 console.

For additional setup information and known issues, please read the XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 Refresh Readme page using the link below.

Hardware requirements are identical to those for Visual Studio 2005 plus a graphics card that supports DirectX 9.0c and Shader Model 1.1 (Shader Model 2.0 is recommended and required for some Starter Kits).

The .NET Framework version 1.1 is required if you intend to use the XACT tools for Audio Authoring.

This release requires Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition Service Pack 1 to be installed before proceeding. You can install Visual C# Express from the Visual C# Express Download Page. Visual C# Express and XNA Game Studio Express can co-exist on the same computer with other members of the Visual Studio 2005 line of products, for example Visual Studio 2005 Professional.

Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 Refresh