What's new in the October 2024 Microsoft Game Development Kit

Article
11/05/2024

The Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) is a complete set of tools, APIs, extensions, and programming models that can be used across current and future Microsoft Gaming platforms and initiatives. Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) design and features are driven by your feedback about how you like to develop games. For a complete introduction, see Welcome to the Microsoft Game Development Kit.

The GDKX | Roadmap for this and future releases of the Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) can be found on the Xbox Developer Forums. Release notes for the current release of the Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) can also be found in the GDK/XDK Release notes space on the Xbox Developer Forums.

In addition to many bug fixes, this release includes the following new features.

System
Networking
Developer tools
Documentation
Samples

System

XSAPI updated with new friend/follower logic
XblPresenceGetPresenceForSocialGroupAsync in presence_c and relevant APIs within social_c and social_manager_c have been modified to support the New Xbox Friends and Followers Experience with backward compatibility for existing games to ensure that follower / following calls include any mutual friends.

PlayFab Entity Stats and Leaderboards (Public Preview)
Statistics are now multidimensional and can be stored on any Entity in the Entity Programming Model, such as players or teams. Leaderboards can aggregate multidimensional statistics or can be directly updated based on activity results. Both Statistics and Leaderboards can now be annotated with custom data. For more info: PlayFab Entity Stats and Leaderboards Now Available in Public Preview.

Networking

PlayFab large party networks
PlayFab Party is increasing the number of devices that can be simultaneously connected to a network from 32 to 128.

Developer tools

XBOM video window size settings
Xbox Manager now features a size menu that allows users set a specific pixel size for the video window. Additionally, it includes a functionality that ensures the popped-out window retains the previous size the next time that window is opened.

Web Content Test Application - Entering Dev Mode
Creators using the Web Content Test Application to stream games can now enter developer mode from the retail experience. This makes testing easier on devices that do not easily allow URL entry like Smart TV.

Web Content Test Application - Streaming Region
The Web content test application developer menu now supports selecting any configured streaming regions for private offerings. This is useful for testing in the region physically closest to the client to best replicate the player streaming experience.

Web Content Test Application - Query Parameter Overrides
The web content test application now allows creators to override developer settings via query parameters. This is useful when sharing a streaming link with others to ensure settings, like touch bundle sideloading, are the same across sessions.

Touch Adaptation Kit - MacOS ARM Command Line Tools
The Touch Adaptation Kit Command Line Tool (tak.exe) is now available in an ARM native build for MacOS. This offers a significant speed improvement for users on M1 and newer Apple devices.

Documentation

Touch Adaptation Kit - A designer's guide to building touch controls
Added a new, comprehensive guide to building touch layouts for games. This guide provides a set of best practices and insights about creating fun and engaging touch controls for the Microsoft Gaming Platform.

Samples

AMDFidelityFX_FSR3FrameInterpolation
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3.1.2 (FSR3.1.2) combines resolution upscaling with cutting-edge frame generation technology, delivering significant framerate boosts. It uses new and improved temporal upscaling, along with a new optical flow implementation to reproject samples from 2 rendered frames to generate an additional frame in between. FSR3.1.2 also implements a swapchain proxy, which is used to schedule interpolation workloads.

DXRContent
The DXRContent sample has two purposes. The first is to show the different Xbox-specific BVH build options and allow users to try different settings and see the effect on trace time and BVH size. The second is to show how different ways of setting up the same content can affect trace time. Each piece of content has two versions: one that is built in a more optimal way and one that is less optimal for ray tracing performance.

For a complete list of samples included with the Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK), see Microsoft Game Development Kit samples.

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