Unity announces a strategic partnership with Microsoft to expand free support for the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platforms and opens up Xbox One support for Microsoft Studios’ developer partners.

Unity Technologies, a provider of Unity’s multiplatform game engine and development tools, has partnered with Microsoft for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox One. This will make it easier for developers to bring games to Microsoft platforms.

At the annual Microsoft Build conference in San Francisco, the company said it will provide a commercial version of the Windows Store Add-on, which now includes Unity 4.2 Release Candidate 1, with a commitment to ongoing support and innovation for Microsoft platforms.

Unity Pro 4 licensed developers will receive a free license for the Windows Store Add-on, which will be available this summer. The Windows Store Add-on includes support for Windows Store and Windows Phone 8 apps.

Unity is also developing tools for the Xbox One system, including next-generation support for Kinect gestures and recognition, multiplayer matches, SmartGlass and the cloud. Developers who create games for Microsoft Studios will get free access to Unity tools for Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Unity offers a combination of power, efficiency and accessibility. The collaboration between Unity and Microsoft will make Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem available to the 2 million passionate developers in the Unity community.

Unity has established itself as an incredible toolset, development engine, space for creative freedom and innovation in the game development community. Unity supports Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Xbox One, and Xbox 360, so Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem will benefit from the wealth of ideas and imagination of the Unity game development community.

Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president and chief evangelist for Microsoft Developer & Platform Evangelism

About Unity Technologies

Unity Technologies is the creator of Unity, a flexible, high-performance development platform for creative, intelligent, interactive 3D and 2D projects. With “author once, deploy everywhere,” developers publish assignments to the most popular platforms.

Unity Technologies has a community of 2 million developers, including major publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. Unity Technologies relentlessly invests in 3D development tools and democratization initiatives to support its popularity: the Asset Store digital content marketplace and the game distribution service Union. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in the following countries: Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine and the UK.

Side note: IAP revenue growth in Unity games is 32% in 2022.

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