For anyone interested in getting into the field of video game design, Xbox may be offering a perfect opportunity to get started. Dates for Xbox Academy have just been revealed, which will offer ambitious newcomers the chance to learn from industry professionals.

Xbox Academy is a free, digital game development workshop. It is presented in partnership with the East London Arts and Music (ELAM), Games London, and Playground Games — the developer behind the successful Forza racing series. The workshop is designed to provide basic game design knowledge to get young talent started, according to an announcement post by Microsoft.

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There are limited spots available for the workshops, and Microsoft will be running four 90-minutes sessions between September 12 and September 13. For those who are interested in attending, participants need to be over 16 years old. Anyone who is able to reserve a spot will need to download and install Unity 2020, create a new project, download the resource file 3D Game Kit, and test it before the session in order to keep up with the presenter during the event, according to Microsoft. Unity Engine has been used to create a number of acclaimed titles in the past, including Hearthstone, Fe, and Cuphead.

unity engine logo

The information provided by this course will not only apply to the Unity Engine, as the core idea of the course is to inform attendees about what the game development process looks like. Participants could take what they learn and apply it to the completely free Unreal Engine 4, for example. After all, available tools could vary if participants who attend these workshops are one day part of massive teams or working on small indie projects.

There are more do-it-yourself indie game development tools than ever, so having general knowledge about how development works could be a boon at all levels. Thanks to free video game programs and engines, online tutorials, and other resources, it's possible to create a game from scratch that is beloved by millions, such as Eric Barone's Stardew Valley. This Xbox Academy program is just one example of a learning tool.

Microsoft continues to do interesting things for the gaming community. Larger scale services like Xbox Game Pass or Project xCloud have added to the value of the Xbox brand. The new Xbox Academy will potentially do so as well, but Microsoft also seems to be investing in the future, in hopes that young talent will one day create amazing games for platforms like Xbox.

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Source: Microsoft