Adding Networking and Multiplayer Support
This section contains articles describing how to add networking and multiplayer support to XNA Game Studio games, including how to:
- Make web requests and implement push notifications on Windows Phone
- Create and join multiplayer game sessions on Xbox 360.
- Manage game state across networked clients
- interact with the friends list on Xbox 360 and Windows
For more detail, refer to the topics in this section.
Overviews
- Prerequisites for Developing Xbox LIVE Multiplayer Games on Xbox 360
Introduces the key prerequisites for creating a networked XNA Framework game on Xbox 360. - Windows Phone Networking
Describes the available methods for creating networked games with XNA Game Studio on Windows Phone. - Finding and Joining a Network Session
Describes how to find and join a network session. - Joining an In-Progress Game
Describes how to enable the AllowJoinInProgress property to make an in-progress game available to peers searching for available sessions. - Sending Network Data
Describes the options available for sending data to all clients or to a specific player. - Receiving Network Data
Describes how local players on a gaming machine receive data from the other players in a networked game. - Creating a Network Session
Describes the process of creating a new network session. - Joining and Leaving a Game
Manage data associated with a player by subscribing to events that occur when players join or leave a game. - Managing Player Movement Between Lobby and Gameplay Modes
Describes properties and events associated with a multiplayer session that allow a game to move between lobby and gameplay modes. It identifies the game's current mode. - Network Session Management
Defines the network session management capabilities in the XNA Framework, which allow for matchmaking access to profile data on all the gamers in a potential game. - Reliable Packet Delivery
Provides an overview of the reliable UDP protocol supported by the XNA Framework, and the packet delivery options that may be chosen. - Network Topologies and Host Migration
Discusses the relationship between session hosts and peers, and the actual network topology used to route gameplay. - Latency Simulation and Bandwidth Usage
Describes the packet loss simulation capabilities available to XNA Framework games. - Voice Support
Introduces the voice support options available in the XNA Framework.
See Also
Concepts
Introduction to Gamer Services
Networking Content Catalog at App Hub Online
Tasks
Setting up your Firewall
Setting Presence Information
Inviting Players to Join Your Game
Initializing and Updating Gamer Services
Getting Gamer Profiles
Simulating Trial Mode for Marketplace Content (Xbox 360, Windows Phone)