How can I sign up for to get free usage of PlayFab services?
By joining the ID@Azure program. This program provides developers with a number of great benefits, including free Azure credits as well as free usage of the PlayFab service, as described in the program's documentation.
What limits are there to Xbox Live free usage of PlayFab Party or Matchmaking?
The PlayFab Free tier is limited to 10 total titles in Development Mode. In Development Mode, overall usage of PlayFab is restricted to 100,000 unique player accounts and 10 unique titles. For all paid tiers, developers can elevate titles out of Development Mode, which removes the 100K player account limit, and in the Standard tier or higher, developers can create thousands of titles with as many of those in Development Mode as needed.
Does this program apply only to Xbox consoles?
No. This free program applies to any platform where players sign in with Xbox Live, including PC, iOS, and Android.
How do I ensure my usage of PlayFab Party is compliant with Xbox Live Integration policies?
Party is intrinsically compliant with Xbox Live network security requirements, as it uses appropriately modern DTLS ciphers and complex keys.
There is an Xbox Live plug-in for Party that simplifies Xbox Live sign-in and automatically applies chat muting to comply with Xbox Live requirements and ensure player mutes/blocks are respected. Check out the Xbox Live Party plug-in topic for more information.
What if a Party has a mix of Xbox Live and non-Xbox Live players? What do I pay for?
The consumption meters used to bill Party are player-oriented: player network-minutes, player voice-minutes, network egress etc. Xbox Live players will not increment these meters and effectively be zero rated. PlayFab tracks this using the LoginWithXbox API so please use this API to enjoy the Xbox Live program.
Usage from other identity providers or custom IDs will be billed normally; check out PlayFab pricing and PlayFab Party pricing to see how standard Party activity is metered and zero-rating applied.