Silicon Studio Announces the Release of the Xenko Game Engine

LiaisonPR

 Xenko is a Scalable, Open and Flexible C# Game Engine

With High-end Graphics and Rendering Features, Available in April

 

TOKYO, Japan (February 23, 2017) – After a comprehensive beta test that lasted nearly two years, Silicon Studio Corporation is announcing the official commercial release of its Xenko game engine, an open source engine designed for development teams of all size, from indies working on mobile games to full studios working on AAA virtual reality titles. The engine will be on display at GDC 2017 in Silicon Studio’s booth #624, and available for purchase April 2017.

Xenko was created and refined by a group of international developers working under the oversight of the Japanese studio known to game creators for its industry-standard middleware, and to gaming fans for development of the 3DS Bravely Default RPG series for Square Enix Co., Ltd. While the engine is accessible to users of all skill levels, it is created by developers for developers.

 

“The decision to move from middleware to a full game engine was actually a fairly easy one for us,” said Terada Takehiko, CEO of Silicon Studio. “We were in a position to address some of the complaints developers have about the other commercial game engines on the market, and from there we began to see what developers of the future will need to be successful, including VR and mobile support.”

 

Xenko is the only commercial engine that supports the latest C#. Along with a development streamlining scene editor, a built-in prefab system and scene streaming system that allows developers to store, reuse, and review designs, the engine will launch with a complete set of tools, including a full asset pipeline, PBR material editor, script editor, particle editor, and more. 

 

Future proofing the engine for VR, Xenko also offers an intuitive user interface, an advanced rendering set, full support for Vulkan, Forward+ rendering support, global illumination, and a built-in 3D audio support system. Along with its appeal to developers working on all mediums, Silicon Studio expects Xenko to be the future reference and go-to game engine for VR development.

 

“I ported the game from Unity engine over a year ago because I find Xenko's API and software architecture to be far superior,” said Mark Aherne, creator of the upcoming game “Universe of Nothing.” “The added benefits of the engine being written entirely in C#, and having access to the source code, just make it a complete winner for me.”

 

Xenko will be on display at GDC in the Silicon Studio booth, #624, and at the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Pavilion in the Moscone Convention Center West Hall Lobby. To schedule an appointment to see the engine and speak with Silicon Studio’s Xenko team, please contact Pierre Rahier.

 

Availability

Xenko will be available to download directly from the Xenko website, as well as through authorized resellers in April 2017.

 

About Silicon Studio

Silicon Studio is a Japan-based game engine and middleware company providing quality rendering, optical effects, and post-effects solutions for game development. Silicon Studio also publishes games across mobile, PC and consoles, and develops first party games, and non-gaming applications for third parties. 

rohMizuno

"Game engine enthusiasts, take note: After roughly two years of beta testing, Japanese game and tech company Silicon Studios Corporation has announced plans to release its open-source C# game engine Xenko this April."  http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/292448/Bravely_Default_dev_to_release_its_own_game_engine_Xenko.php


Is always good to see the words open and source together.
Did anyone tried playing with it?

JordanN

Kinda looks like UE4. 


But really, how many more free game engines do we need? All the talking points seem to be the same.

*oooh, it's physically based*
*oh, it supports VR*
*oh it does particles*

RyanB

Nested prefabs

minifigmaster125

it's in free beta right now, but is it completely free? Are there strings attached (like making X from sales requires a license) or some jazz like that? I haven't examined all the fine print. 

oXYnary

Do I have to open the source code of my game made with Xenko Beta?

No, if you use the binary version distributed on the website you are fine. The GPL license applies only if you modify and recompile Xenko from GitHub and build your game against a modified version of Xenko.

I,E. The open source license they are using isn't MIT.  So if you actually do want to screw with the code, you have to release what you have done.  Note, the precompiled version they offer on the website is Windows alone.

Another point...
They are using C# right?  Doesn't that limit it to .net?  Is it compatible with Mono?  Not seeing anything on the FAQ page.
http://xenko.com/faq/

FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm working in another open source engine, so my perspective is colored.

Kraftwerk

Xenko is really nice but crashes a lot for me when importing meshes, but so far i really like it, more then Unity for sure but not sure i would replace Unreal Engine 4 with it.

@minifigmaster125 Engine is fully open source so no strings attached you can make a game with it and no need to pay a dime.

@OXYnary When you go to the download page it says requires Visual Studio or Xamarin Studio, also the engine it self runs under Linux so Mono should be fine. Sadly the editor it self is closed source and not running under Linux yet.

Skinpop

it's written entirely in C#? that sounds awful

cptSwing

oXYnary said:

I,E. The open source license they are using isn't MIT.  So if you actually do want to screw with the code, you have to release what you have done.

Isn't that a Good Thing (tm), or at least in the spirit of open source? Obviously will narrow down the range of companies that'd use it, maybe that's what you mean?