With Nintendo Switch support added in 2020 and PS4 in 2023 (soon also PS5) the only missing piece of the console puzzle is Xbox. We have worked long and hard to make this happen, with multiple applications sent to the Microsoft middleware team, but have so far not managed to get Defold into the middleware program.
It’s a bit of chicken and egg problem. In order for MS to approve Defold they need to see an interest from game developers, and in order for game developers to consider an application to the ID@Xbox developer program they need Xbox support in Defold…
It’s not all doom and gloom though. We (as in Refold, the service company we work from to support the Defold Foundation) have submitted a Defold game and had it approved for release on Xbox. This means that we now have access to the full GDK as well as two dev kits and we can start implementing Xbox support for Defold. The problem we have is that since Defold isn’t approved as a middleware provider for Xbox we can’t promote it and offer it to the community in the same way as Nintendo or PlayStation support.
This is where you come in, our awesome community! We would greatly appreciate if developers with games live on mobile, desktop or web also could submit their games and apply for a developer account. I know some developers that already has applied for a developer account. If you haven’t already, you can sign up here:
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/publish
Note that it is free to sign up for an account. When you submit your game concept be sure to write that your game is developed using Defold. If you get approved into the program Microsoft will send you two Xbox dev kits free of charge!
Please let us know here (or send me a PM) if you decide to submit your game. We’ll use all these submissions to build a case when we contact Microsoft again.
