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Microsoft launches Xbox Academy for aspiring developers. Here’s how to sign up

By Aaron Mamiit Published April 25, 2023

Microsoft has launched Xbox Academy, a free online digital workshop for aspiring game developers.

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The Xbox Academy will be run in partnership with East London Arts and Music, Games London, and Forza Horizon 4 developer Playground Games.

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The workshop will provide insights into the basics of designing and developing games, with an introduction to working with the Unity engine. Participants will learn how to develop basic 3D level signs, and how to start creating basic games.

“As a team, we are passionate about fostering new talent in the industry, such as with our 12-month placement scheme for university students from relevant courses. This event is another great way that we can pass on some of the expertise within the studio to inspire the next generation of game creators,” said Playground Games studio director Gavin Raeburn in a statement.

Sign up for Xbox Academy

Xbox Academy is offering four 90-minute sessions across September 12 and September 13, all of which are hosted online. Aspiring developers looking to join should sign up through the workshop’s event page immediately, as spaces are limited.

Participants will be given a pre-workshop package that includes the requirements for the sessions, such as installing the latest versions of the Unity engine and the 3D Game Kit resource file.

Currently, Xbox Academy is only offering sessions for the two dates. Digital Trends has reached out to Microsoft to ask for information on when the next sessions will be held, and we will update this article as soon as we hear back.

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How to watch the Xbox business event?
This update will be available on all of the platforms the Official Xbox Podcast typically airs on. If you want to watch it, you can tune into the video posted on YouTube this Thursday. If you're content to just listen, then you'll be able to access the audio version of it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. Thankfully, being on all of these platforms means it will likely be available to watch or listen afterward if you can't experience it live.
What to expect
"Hear from Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty as they share updates on the Xbox business," the tweet announcing Thursday's podcast states. This follows a tweet from Phil Spencer last week stating that an impending announcement would include information "about our vision for the future of Xbox."