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Roblox wants to make you a console game dev with its new Xbox app
Despite being one of the largest entertainment industries in the world, game development has traditionally had a high barrier to entry due to the level of technical knowledge required to create games. That barrier has steadily been lowered over the last few years thanks to easy to learn (and free to use) game engines like Unity, and now free-to-play MMO sandbox game Roblox is looking to make game creation even easier by launching a new Xbox app that brings its user-created games to consoles with no porting necessary.
“Roblox for Xbox gives our developer community the opportunity to receive high-profile exposure for their games, and it promotes game development to the broader Xbox audience,” Roblox CEO David Baszucki said in a statement. “We believe the future of video games will be much more diverse, with anyone being able to bring a game concept to fruition in the same way online video platforms like YouTube have enabled millions of aspiring filmmakers like never before.”
“Microsoft has a longstanding commitment to support indie development,” added Chris Charla, Director of ID@Xbox. “Including Roblox for Xbox is a great way to connect with and encourage the next generation of developers coming up on Roblox.”
Roblox is part game, part development platform, and it allows users to create their own games and sell them on a marketplace for digital currency, which can in turn be exchanged for real money. The platform allows users to modify game elements using the Lua scripting language, the same language Blizzard Entertainment uses for World of Warcraft mods.
The new Xbox One app will allow Roblox content creators to release their games on multiple platforms simultaneously without having to worry about porting the code to each new system. Other platforms available for Roblox games include Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android.
The release date for the Roblox Xbox One app is tentatively set for December 3, and the online game will require an Xbox Live Gold membership to play. The app will launch with around 20 of the most popular games made with the platform, including Heroes, Super Bomb Survival, Tiny Sharks, Bird Simulator, and Coalesce.
Image courtesy of Roblox Corp
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