Microsoft shows an additional commitment to independent game makers and publishers by releasing XNA Studio version 2.0. The good part about the whole release is that now professionals and amateurs have the exact same set of tools to work with, so the independents will not be handicapped from the start. The commitment to homebrew and amateur games has been a steady commitment from Microsoft, as they work on developing great content for the Xbox live network.

They realize that the way to get started in the business is to develop small playable games, giving both the independent studios money to build more games, build out brand reputation, and learn to develop games that work on the Xbox Live network. This is a self feeding issue, and it is one of the few real win win situations that could develop in the world of games development.

Late in 2006, Microsoft introduced the XNA Game Studio Express development software meant to lower the barrier of entry for budding game programmers and independent developers for creating software on the Xbox 360. Microsoft originally planned to segregate the professional and amateur side in terms of software tools, but with the XNA Game Studio 2.0, the two sides will have access to the exact same set of tools. Source: Daily Tech

While the thrust of the studio is to develop Xbox live games, which are casual, small footprint downloadable games, this is a great platform for independents to sell to. While the code still has to go through certification, and the process to meet quality standards and uniqueness standards will be initially difficult. The whole kit means that people can experiment, test, evaluate, and develop games for a much smaller economic footprint than making PC or full-blown console games.

So as we are enthusiastic about the release of XNA studio Version 2, we cannot see this as anything other than win win, and something that smaller game publishers and developers should be incorporating into their business models. More technical detail on the release can be found here.