Fix the GeForce Experience Not Finding Games in Windows 10

GeForce Experience is incredibly powerful software that works great with the GeForce GTX Series graphics cards. By installing this application on your computer, you no longer have to worry about driver updates. In addition, your game’s graphics settings are automatically optimized for the best gaming experience.

However, some users have had problems with GeForce Experience software not finding their local games as well as Steam games. Since this affects your ability to use the full power of your GTX graphics card, the annoyance is understandable.

Make sure that your game is supported.

GeForce Experience uses the locations listed on the Settings -> Games tab to find the games. Add a location where your game is installed if you choose a different directory from the default path to the game.

The GeForce Experience Scan feature for games only supports unprotected directories. Directories with limited access (e.g., network shares, home directories, etc.) are not supported.

GeForce Experience creates a new user named UpdatusUser. If this user profile does not have read access to the directory where your games are installed, Geforce Experience cannot find those games.

Supported games must be upgraded to the latest version available from the developer. The Geforce interface does not recognize old versions of the game, gameplay loopholes or other mods that modify the executable version of the game.

Run the GeForce Experience as an administrator.

This is probably the easiest way to try it in this article. It gave excellent results for users struggling with this problem. The explanation is that the games are probably installed in a folder that is not fully accessible without administrator rights. By providing this access, GeForce Experience can find the games and include them as such.

• First, you need to find the GeForce Experience executable file. This can be on your desktop. If not, try looking for it on the Start menu. Right-click the first result and select “Open file location”. The “Start” menu shortcut should appear in the folder. Click it again with the right mouse button and select “Open file location” again.
• You can also check the folder where the default GeForce Experience installation folder is located:
• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ NVIDIA Corporation \ NVIDIA GeForce Experience
• When you find it, right-click the NVIDIA GeForce Experience executable file and select “Properties” from the context menu that appears. Be sure to navigate to compatibility
• Select the check box next to Run this program as administrator and click OK to apply the changes you have made. Open GeForce Experience again and see if the problem persists!

Make sure that the installed game directory is marked with

• Open the GeForce Experience application.
• Go to the settings.
• Click Games.
• See which GeForce Experience folders to check and where you installed your games.
• If there is a discrepancy between the two options, add a link to the folder where you installed the games (e.g., D: Games).
• Once you’ve done this, restart the GeForce Experience application and see if the problem has been resolved.

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Install the correct folders as the location for the game.

GeForce will not detect a game error when installing games in different locations. For example, you install these games on different hard drives. To avoid this problem, make sure you add the right folders as the location of the game. Okay:

Step 1: Find and open the GeForce Experience executable file.

Step 2: On the Control Panel, go to the Games section on the Settings tab and check the Search for Games checkbox.

Step 3: If the folder where the affected game is located does not exist, click “More” and select the folder where your game is located.

Now GeForce Experience will search for installed games and you can check if the problem has been solved or not.

Update your NVidia driver

Some users fix the fact that GeForce Experience doesn’t find the game by simply updating the NVidia drivers. This error may occur if you are using GeForce Experience with an outdated driver. Here is how to update NVidia drivers with GeForce Experience.

Step 1: Start the GeForce Experience client and click the Drivers tab at the top menu bar.

Step 2: Click the Check for Updates button at the top right. Then wait a bit to see if any drivers are available.

Step 3: If a new driver is found in the “Available” section, click the green “Download” button. Then install it on your computer.

After installation is complete, restart your computer and restart the GeForce Experience client to see if the problem persists.

CCNA, Web Developer, PC Troubleshooter

I am a computer enthusiast and a practicing IT Professional. I have years of experience behind me in computer programming, hardware troubleshooting and repair. I specialise in Web Development and Database Design. I also have a CCNA certification for Network Design and Troubleshooting.

Where are my Windows 10 games stored? Here’s the brief answer

• It seems that many gamers can’t find their downloaded Microsoft games.
• That’s because they are hidden. But we’re showing you how to find them.
• Don’t miss any of our gaming articles. Save our Gaming Hub in your feed for quick access.
• All the software-related tutorials you can think of are stored in our How-To library. Check it out!

Taking into consideration that modern games are quite large in size, you probably want to choose where to store them.

The default location is on the system partition, which is lower in size. That’s the proper reason to re-assign the location for games downloaded via Microsoft Store.

So in this article, we’ll explain where to find the downloaded games and how to change the location.

How can I find my Windows 10 games?

Quick tip

The majority of players acquire their games from different sources. But since cross-platform gaming is a thing now and there are some Microsoft exclusives, many games turn to this source.

If you don’t know where your downloaded Microsoft games go, you can use Copernic Desktop Search. It will find your files for you in the myriad of entries stored on your hard drive.

Copernic is an award-winning search tool for PC, that scans the system for specified files. It’s is compatible with 119 file types, text included. Autocad of Photoshop files can also be searched using this program.

Copernic Desktop Search

All games are, by default, stored in C:Program FilesWindows Apps. But, the thing is, this folder is both hidden and it requires strict administrative permission in order to access it.

That’s why we’ll explain how to change ownership of the given folder and how to move the game installations to an alternative HDD partition.

How to access the Windows Apps folder in Windows 10

1. Navigate to C:Program Files.
2. Select View in the Menu and check the Hidden items box.
3. Right-click on the Windows Apps folder and open Properties.
4. Choose Security and then click on Advanced.
5. Under the Owner, click Change.
6. Enter the registered email related to your Microsoft account you use to sign in to Windows 10.
7. Check the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects box and apply changes.
8. Now, click on your account in the list and select Edit.
9. Check the Full Control box and there you have it.

We won’t recommend changing anything within the given folder, but you can, at least, delete the associated files when the app or game is uninstalled.

This can come in handy if you need to clear some space. Also, once you move the installation to an alternate partition, you don’t want any leftover files of the previous installation.

How to change the default location for future game and app installations

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
2. Open Apps.
3. Select the game you want to move and click Move.

Furthermore, what you can do is change the default location for the new games and apps you install in the future. This way, you’ll reduce the storage consumption on the system drive.

Also, and maybe of even greater importance, if your system goes awry, you’ll get to keep the games instead of them evaporating after the clean system reinstall.

Follow these instructions to do it:

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
2. Choose System.
3. Select Storage.
4. Click on the Change where new content is saved.
5. Under apps, select an alternate partition.

If you’re looking to change the default location for other files on Windows 10 or older, see this comprehensive guide.

Hopefully, you found some valuable insights in this article. Don’t forget to post your questions or suggestions on this topic in the comments section below.

Windows 10 game development guide

Welcome to the Windows 10 game development guide!

This guide provides an end-to-end collection of the resources and information you’ll need to develop a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) game. An English (US) version of this guide is available in PDF format.

Introduction to game development for the Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

When you create a Windows 10 game, you have the opportunity to reach millions of players worldwide across phone, PC, and Xbox One. With Xbox on Windows, Xbox Live, cross-device multiplayer, an amazing gaming community, and powerful new features like the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) and DirectX 12, Windows 10 games thrill players of all ages and genres. The new Universal Windows Platform (UWP) delivers compatibility for your game across Windows 10 devices with a common API for phone, PC, and Xbox One, along with tools and options to tailor your game to each device experience.

This guide provides an end-to-end collection of information and resources that will help you as you develop your game. The sections are organized according to the stages of game development, so you’ll know where to look for information when you need it.

If you’re new to developing games on Windows or Xbox, the Getting Started guide may be where you want to start off. The Game development resources section also provides a high-level survey of documentation, programs, and other resources that are helpful when creating a game. If you want to start by looking at some UWP code instead, see Game samples.

This guide will be updated as additional Windows 10 game development resources and material become available.

Game development resources

From documentation to developer programs, forums, blogs, and samples, there are many resources available to help you on your game development journey. Here’s a roundup of resources to know about as you begin developing your Windows 10 game.

Some features are managed through various programs. This guide covers a broad range of resources, so you may find that some resources are inaccessible depending on the program you are in or your specific development role. Examples are links that resolve to developer.xboxlive.com, forums.xboxlive.com, xdi.xboxlive.com, or the Game Developer Network (GDN). For information about partnering with Microsoft, see Developer Programs.

Game development documentation

Throughout this guide, you’ll find deep links to relevant documentation—organized by task, technology, and stage of game development. To give you a broad view of what’s available, here are the main documentation portals for Windows 10 game development.

Windows Dev Center main portal	Windows Dev Center
Developing Windows apps	Develop Windows apps
Universal Windows Platform app development	How-to guides for Windows 10 apps
How-to guides for UWP games	Games and DirectX
DirectX reference and overviews	DirectX Graphics and Gaming
Azure for gaming	Build and scale your games using Azure
PlayFab	Complete backend solution for live games
UWP on Xbox One	Building UWP apps on Xbox One
UWP on HoloLens	Building UWP apps on HoloLens
Xbox Live documentation	Xbox Live developer guide
Xbox One development documentation (XGD)	Xbox One Development
Xbox One development whitepapers (XGD)	White Papers
Mixer Interactive documentation	Add interactivity to your game

Partner Center

Registering a developer account in Partner Center is the first step towards publishing your Windows game. A developer account lets you reserve your game’s name and submit free or paid games to the Microsoft Store for all Windows devices. Use your developer account to manage your game and in-game products, get detailed analytics, and enable services that create great experiences for your players around the world.

Microsoft also offers several developer programs to help you develop and publish Windows games. We recommend seeing if any are right for you before registering for a Partner Center account. For more info, go to Developer programs

Developer programs

Microsoft offers several developer programs to help you develop and publish Windows games. Consider joining a developer program if you want to develop games for Xbox One and integrate Xbox Live features in your game. To publish a game in the Microsoft Store, you’ll also need to create a developer account in Partner Center .

Xbox Live Creators’ Program

The Xbox Live Creators Program allows anyone to integrate Xbox Live into their title and publish to Xbox One and Windows 10. There is a simplified certification process and no concept approval is required outside of the standard Microsoft Store Policies.

You can deploy, design, and publish your game in the Creators Program without a dedicated dev kit, using only retail hardware. To get started, download the Dev Mode Activation app on your Xbox One.

If you want access to even more Xbox Live capabilities, dedicated marketing and development support, and the chance to be featured in the main Xbox One store, apply to the ID@Xbox program.

Xbox Live Creators Program

Learn more about the Xbox Live Creators Program

ID@Xbox

The ID@Xbox program helps qualified game developers self-publish on Windows and Xbox One. If you want to develop for Xbox One, or add Xbox Live features like Gamerscore, achievements, and leaderboards to your Windows 10 game, sign up with ID@Xbox. Become an ID@Xbox developer to get the tools and support you need to unleash your creativity and maximize your success. We recommend that you apply to ID@Xbox first before registering for a developer account in Partner Center.

ID@Xbox developer program	Independent Developer Program for Xbox One
ID@Xbox consumer site	ID@Xbox

Xbox tools and middleware

The Xbox Tools and Middleware Program licenses Xbox development kits to professional developers of game tools and middleware. Developers accepted into the program can share and distribute their Xbox XDK technologies to other licensed Xbox developers.

Game samples

There are many Windows 10 game and app samples available to help you understand Windows 10 gaming features and get a quick start on game development. More samples are developed and published regularly, so don’t forget to occasionally check back at sample portals to see what’s new. You can also watch GitHub repos to be notified of changes and additions.

Contact the tools and middleware program

Universal Windows Platform app samples	Windows-universal-samples
Direct3D 12 graphics samples	DirectX-Graphics-Samples
Direct3D 11 graphics samples	directx-sdk-samples
Direct3D 11 first-person game sample	Create a simple UWP game with DirectX
Direct2D custom image effects sample	D2DCustomEffects
Direct2D gradient mesh sample	D2DGradientMesh
Direct2D photo adjustment sample	D2DPhotoAdjustment
Xbox Advanced Technology Group public samples	Xbox-ATG-Samples
Xbox Live samples	xbox-live-samples
Xbox One game samples (XGD)	Samples
Windows game samples (MSDN Code Gallery)	Microsoft Store game samples
JavaScript 2D game sample	Create a UWP game in JavaScript
JavaScript 3D game sample	Creating a 3D JavaScript game using three.js
MonoGame 2D UWP game sample	Create a UWP game in MonoGame 2D

Developer forums

Developer forums are a great place to ask and answer game development questions, and connect with the game development community. Forums can also be fantastic resources for finding existing answers to difficult issues that developers have faced and solved in the past.

Publishing apps and games developer forums	Publishing and ads-in-apps
UWP apps developer forum	Developing Universal Windows Platform apps
Desktop applications developer forums	Windows desktop applications forums
DirectX Microsoft Store games (archived forum posts)	Building Microsoft Store games with DirectX (archived)
Windows 10 managed partner developer forums	XBOX Developer Forums: Windows 10
Xbox Live forum	Xbox Live development forum
PlayFab forums	PlayFab forums

Developer blogs

Developer blogs are another great resource for the latest information about game development. You’ll find posts about new features, implementation details, best practices, architecture background, and more.

Building apps for Windows blog	Building Apps for Windows
Windows 10 (blog posts)	Posts in Windows 10
Visual Studio engineering team blog	The Visual Studio Blog
Visual Studio developer tools blogs	Developer Tools Blogs
Somasegar’s developer tools blog	Somasegar’s blog
DirectX developer blog	DirectX Developer blog
DirectX 12 introduction (blog post)	DirectX 12
Visual C++ tools team blog	Visual C++ team blog
PIX team blog	Performance tuning and debugging for DirectX 12 games on Windows and Xbox
Universal Windows App Deployment team blog	Build and deploy UWP apps team blog

Concept and planning

In the concept and planning stage, you’re deciding what your game is going to be like and the technologies and tools you’ll use to bring it to life.

Overview of game development technologies

When you start developing a game for the UWP you have multiple options available for graphics, input, audio, networking, utilities, and libraries.

If you’ve already decided on all the technologies you’ll be using in your game, great! If not, the Game technologies for UWP apps guide is an excellent overview of many of the technologies available, and is highly recommended reading to help you understand the options and how they fit together.

Survey of UWP game technologies

Game technologies for UWP apps

These three GDC 2015 videos give a good overview of Windows 10 game development and the Windows 10 gaming experience.

Overview of Windows 10 game development (video)	Developing Games for Windows 10
Windows 10 gaming experience (video)	Gaming Consumer Experience on Windows 10
Gaming across the Microsoft ecosystem (video)	The Future of Gaming Across the Microsoft Ecosystem

Game planning

These are some high level concept and planning topics to consider when planning for your game.

Make your game accessible	Accessibility for games
Build games using cloud	Cloud for games
Monetize your game	Monetization for games

Choosing your graphics technology and programming language

There are several programming languages and graphics technologies available for use in Windows 10 games. The path you take depends on the type of game you’re developing, the experience and preferences of your development studio, and specific feature requirements of your game. Will you use C#, C++, or JavaScript? DirectX, XAML, or HTML5?

DirectX

Microsoft DirectX is the choice to make for the highest-performance 2D and 3D graphics and multimedia.

DirectX 12 is faster and more efficient than any previous version. Direct3D 12 enables richer scenes, more objects, more complex effects, and full utilization of modern GPU hardware on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One.

If you want to use the familiar graphics pipeline of Direct3D 11, you’ll still benefit from the new rendering and optimization features added to Direct3D 11.3. And, if you’re a tried-and-true desktop Windows API developer with roots in Win32, you’ll still have that option in Windows 10.

The extensive features and deep platform integration of DirectX provide the power and performance needed by the most demanding games.

DirectX for UWP development	DirectX programming
Tutorial: How to create a UWP DirectX game	Create a simple UWP game with DirectX
DirectX overviews and reference	DirectX Graphics and Gaming
Direct3D 12 programming guide and reference	Direct3D 12 Graphics
Graphics and DirectX 12 development videos (YouTube channel)	Microsoft DirectX 12 and Graphics Education

XAML is an easy-to-use declarative UI language with convenient features like animations, storyboards, data binding, scalable vector-based graphics, dynamic resizing, and scene graphs. XAML works great for game UI, menus, sprites, and 2D graphics. To make UI layout easy, XAML is compatible with design and development tools like Expression Blend and Microsoft Visual Studio. XAML is commonly used with C#, but C++ is also a good choice if that’s your preferred language or if your game has high CPU demands.

XAML platform overview	XAML platform
XAML UI and controls	Controls, layouts, and text

HTML 5

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a common UI markup language used for web pages, apps, and rich clients. Windows games can use HTML5 as a full-featured presentation layer with the familiar features of HTML, access to the Universal Windows Platform, and support for modern web features like AppCache, Web Workers, canvas, drag-and-drop, asynchronous programming, and SVG. Behind the scenes, HTML rendering takes advantage of the power of DirectX hardware acceleration, so you can still get the performance benefits of DirectX without writing any extra code. HTML5 is a good choice if you are proficient with web development, porting a web game, or want to use language and graphics layers that can be easier to approach than the other choices. HTML5 is used with JavaScript, but can also call into components created with C# or C++/CX.

HTML5 and Document Object Model information	HTML and DOM reference
The HTML5 W3C Recommendation	HTML5

Combining presentation technologies

The Microsoft DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI) provides interop and compatibility across multiple graphics technologies. For high-performance graphics, you can combine XAML and DirectX, using XAML for menus and other simple UI, and DirectX for rendering complex 2D and 3D scenes. DXGI also provides compatibility between Direct2D, Direct3D, DirectWrite, DirectCompute, and the Microsoft Media Foundation.

DirectX Graphics Infrastructure programming guide and reference	DXGI
Combining DirectX and XAML	DirectX and XAML interop

C++/CX is a high-performance, low overhead language that provides the powerful combination of speed, compatibility, and platform access. C++/CX makes it easy to use all of the great gaming features in Windows 10, including DirectX and Xbox Live. You can also reuse existing C++ code and libraries. C++/CX creates fast, native code that doesn’t incur the overhead of garbage collection, so your game can have great performance and low power consumption, which leads to longer battery life. Use C++/CX with DirectX or XAML, or create a game that uses a combination of both.

C++/CX reference and overviews	Visual C++ Language Reference (C++/CX)
Visual C++ programming guide and reference	Visual C++ in Visual Studio 2019

C# (pronounced «C sharp») is a modern, innovative language that is simple, powerful, type-safe, and object-oriented. C# enables rapid development while retaining the familiarity and expressiveness of C-style languages. Though easy to use, C# has numerous advanced language features like polymorphism, delegates, lambdas, closures, iterator methods, covariance, and Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) expressions. C# is an excellent choice if you are targeting XAML, want to get a quick start developing your game, or have previous C# experience. C# is used primarily with XAML, so if you want to use DirectX, choose C++ instead, or write part of your game as a C++ component that interacts with DirectX. Or, consider Win2D, an immediate mode Direct2D graphics libary for C# and C++.

C# programming guide and reference

C# language reference

JavaScript

JavaScript is a dynamic scripting language widely used for modern web and rich client applications.

Windows JavaScript apps can access the powerful features of the Universal Windows Platform in an easy, intuitive way—as methods and properties of object-oriented JavaScript classes. JavaScript is a good choice for your game if you’re coming from a web development environment, are already familiar with JavaScript, or want to use HTML5, CSS, WinJS, or JavaScript libraries. If you’re targeting DirectX or XAML, choose C# or C++/CX instead.

JavaScript and Windows Runtime reference

JavaScript reference

Use Windows Runtime components to combine languages

With the Universal Windows Platform, it’s easy to combine components written in different languages. Create Windows Runtime components in C++, C#, or Visual Basic, and then call into them from JavaScript, C#, C++, or Visual Basic. This is a great way to program portions of your game in the language of your choice. Components also let you consume external libraries that are only available in a particular language, as well as use legacy code you’ve already written.

How to create Windows Runtime components

Windows Runtime components with C++/CX

Which version of DirectX should your game use?

If you are choosing DirectX for your game, you’ll need to decide which version to use: Microsoft Direct3DВ 12 or Microsoft Direct3DВ 11.

DirectX 12 is faster and more efficient than any previous version. Direct3D 12 enables richer scenes, more objects, more complex effects, and full utilization of modern GPU hardware on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One. Since Direct3D 12 works at a very low level, it is able to give an expert graphics development team or an experienced DirectX 11 development team all the control they need to maximize graphics optimization.

Direct3D 11.3 is a low level graphics API that uses the familiar Direct3D programming model and handles for you more of the complexity involved in GPU rendering. It is also supported in Windows 10 and Xbox One. If you have an existing engine written in Direct3D 11, and you’re not quite ready to make the jump to Direct3D 12, you can use Direct3D 11 on 12 to achieve some performance improvements. Versions 11.3+ contain the new rendering and optimization features enabled also in Direct3D 12.

Choosing Direct3DВ 12 or Direct3DВ 11	What is Direct3DВ 12?
Overview of Direct3DВ 11	Direct3D 11 Graphics
Overview of Direct3D 11 on 12	Direct3D 11 on 12

Bridges, game engines, and middleware

Depending on the needs of your game, using bridges, game engines, or middleware can save development and testing time and resources. Here are some overview and resources for bridges, game engines, and middleware.

Universal Windows Platform Bridges

Universal Windows Platform Bridges are technologies that bring your existing app or game over to the UWP. Bridges are a great way to get a quick start on UWP game development.

UWP bridges	Bring your code to Windows
Windows Bridge for iOS	Bring your iOS apps to Windows
Windows Bridge for desktop applications (.NET and Win32)	Convert your desktop application to a UWP app

PlayFab

Now part of the Microsoft family, PlayFab is a complete back-end platform for live games and a powerful way for independent studios to get started. Boost revenue, engagement, and retention—while cutting costs—with game services, real-time analytics, and LiveOps.

PlayFab	Overview of tools and services
Getting started	General getting started guide
Video tutorial series	Series of demo videos about PlayFab’s core systems
Recipes	Popular game mechanics and design pattern samples
Platforms	Specific documentation for various platforms and game engines
GitHub repo	Get scripts and SDKs for various platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, Unity, and Unreal.
API documentation	Access PlayFab service directly via REST-like Web APIs
Forums	PlayFab forums

Unity

Unity offers a platform for creating beautiful and engaging 2D, 3D, VR, and AR games and apps. It enables you to realize your creative vision fast and delivers your content to virtually any media or device.

Beginning with Unity 5.4, Unity supports Direct3D 12 development.

The Unity game engine	Unity — Game Engine
Get Unity	Get Unity
Unity documentation for Windows	Unity Manual / Windows
Add LiveOps using PlayFab	Getting started — Make your first PlayFab API call from your Unity game
How to add interactivity to your game using Mixer Interactive	Getting started guide
Mixer SDK for Unity	Mixer Unity plugin
Mixer SDK for Unity reference documentation	API reference for Mixer Unity plugin
Publish your Unity game to Microsoft Store	Porting guide
Troubleshooting missing assembly references related to .NET APIs	Missing .NET APIs in Unity and UWP
Publish your Unity game as a Universal Windows Platform app (video)	How to publish your Unity game as a UWP app
Use Unity to make Windows games and apps (video)	Making Windows games and apps with Unity
Unity game development using Visual Studio (video series)	Using Unity with Visual Studio 2015

Havok

Havok’s modular suite of tools and technologies help game creators reach new levels of interactivity and immersion. Havok enables highly realistic physics, interactive simulations, and stunning cinematics. Version 2015.1 and higher officially supports UWP in Visual Studio 2015 on x86, 64-bit, and ARM.

Havok website	Havok
Havok tool suite	Havok Product Overview
Havok support forums	Havok

MonoGame

MonoGame is an open source, cross-platform game development framework originally based on Microsoft’s XNA Framework 4.0. Monogame currently supports Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox, as well as Linux, macOS, iOS, Android, and several other platforms.

MonoGame	MonoGame website
MonoGame Documentation	MonoGame Documentation (latest)
Monogame Downloads	Download releases, development builds, and source code from the MonoGame website, or get the latest release via NuGet.
MonoGame 2D UWP game sample	Create a UWP game in MonoGame 2D

Cocos2d

Cocos2d-x is a cross-platform open source game development engine and tools suite that supports building UWP games. Beginning with version 3, 3D features are being added as well.

Cocos2d-x	What is Cocos2d-x?
Cocos2d-x programmer’s guide	Cocos2d-x Programmers Guide
Cocos2d-x on Windows 10 (blog post)	Running Cocos2d-x on Windows 10
Add LiveOps using PlayFab	Getting started — Make your first PlayFab API call from your Cocos2d game

Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine 4 is a complete suite of game development tools for all types of games and developers. For the most demanding console and PC games, Unreal Engine is used by game developers worldwide.

Unreal Engine overview	Unreal Engine 4
Add LiveOps using PlayFab — C++	Getting started — Make your first PlayFab API call from your Unreal game
Add LiveOps using PlayFab — Blueprints	Getting started — Make your first PlayFab API call from your Unreal game

BabylonJS

BabylonJS is a complete JavaScript framework for building 3D games with HTML5, WebGL, WebVR, and Web Audio.

BabylonJS	BabylonJS
WebGL 3D with HTML5 and BabylonJS (video series)	Learning WebGL 3D and BabylonJS
Building a cross-platform WebGL game with BabylonJS	Use BabylonJS to develop a cross-platform game

Porting your game

If you have an existing game, there are many resources and guides available to help you quickly bring your game to the UWP. To jumpstart your porting efforts, you might also consider using a Universal Windows Platform Bridge.

Porting a Windows 8 app to a Universal Windows Platform app	Move from Windows Runtime 8.x to UWP
Porting a Windows 8 app to a Universal Windows Platform app (video)	Porting 8.1 Apps to Windows 10
Porting an iOS app to a Universal Windows Platform app	Move from iOS to UWP
Porting a Silverlight app to a Universal Windows Platform app	Move from Windows Phone Silverlight to UWP
Porting from XAML or Silverlight to a Universal Windows Platform app (video)	Porting an App from XAML or Silverlight to Windows 10
Porting an Xbox game to a Universal Windows Platform app	Porting from Xbox One to Windows 10 UWP
Porting from DirectX 9 to DirectX 11	Port from DirectX 9 to Universal Windows Platform (UWP)
Porting from Direct3D 11 to Direct3D 12	Porting from Direct3D 11 to Direct3D 12
Porting from OpenGL ES to Direct3D 11	Port from OpenGL ES 2.0 to Direct3D 11
OpenGL ES to Direct3D 11 using ANGLE	ANGLE
Classic Windows API equivalents in the UWP	Alternatives to Windows APIs in Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps

Prototype and design

Now that you’ve decided the type of game you want to create and the tools and graphics technology you’ll use to build it, you’re ready to get started with the design and prototype. At its core, your game is a Universal Windows Platform app, so that’s where you’ll begin.

Introduction to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

Windows 10 introduces the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), which provides a common API platform across Windows 10 devices. UWP evolves and expands the Windows Runtime model and hones it into a cohesive, unified core. Games that target the UWP can call WinRT APIs that are common to all devices. Because the UWP provides guaranteed API layers, you can choose to create a single app package that will install across Windows 10 devices. And if you want to, your game can still call APIs (including some classic Windows APIs from Win32 and .NET) that are specific to the devices your game runs on.

The following are excellent guides that discuss the Universal Windows Platform apps in detail, and are recommended reading to help you understand the platform.

Introduction to Universal Windows Platform apps	What’s a Universal Windows Platform app?
Overview of the UWP	Guide to UWP apps

Getting started with UWP development

Getting set up and ready to develop a Universal Windows Platform app is quick and easy. The following guides take you through the process step-by-step.

Getting started with UWP development	Get started with Windows apps
Getting set up for UWP development	Get set up

If you’re an «absolute beginner» to UWP programming, and are considering using XAML in your game (see Choosing your graphics technology and programming language), the Windows 10 development for absolute beginners video series is a good place to start.

Beginners guide to Windows 10 development with XAML (Video series)	Windows 10 development for absolute beginners
Announcing the Windows 10 absolute beginners series using XAML (blog post)	Windows 10 development for absolute beginners

UWP development concepts

Overview of Universal Windows Platform app development	Develop Windows apps
Overview of network programming in the UWP	Networking and web services
Using Windows.Web.HTTP and Windows.Networking.Sockets in games	Networking for games
Asynchronous programming concepts in the UWP	Asynchronous programming

Windows Desktop APIsВ to UWP

These are some links to help you move your Windows desktop game to UWP.

Use existing C++ code for UWP game development	How to: Use existing C++ code in a UWP app
Windows Runtime APIs for Win32 and COM APIs	Win32 and COM APIs for UWP apps
Unsupported CRT functions in UWP	CRT functions not supported in Universal Windows Platform apps
Alternatives for Windows APIs	Alternatives to Windows APIs in Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps

Process lifetime management

Process lifetime management, or app lifecyle, describes the various activation states that a Universal Windows Platform app can transition through. Your game can be activated, suspended, resumed, or terminated, and can transition through those states in a variety of ways.

Handling app lifecyle transitions	App lifecycle
Using Microsoft Visual Studio to trigger app transitions	How to trigger suspend, resume, and background events for UWP apps in Visual Studio

Designing game UX

The genesis of a great game is inspired design.

Games share some common user interface elements and design principles with apps, but games often have a unique look, feel, and design goal for their user experience. Games succeed when thoughtful design is applied to both aspects—when should your game use tested UX, and when should it diverge and innovate? The presentation technology that you choose for your game—DirectX, XAML, HTML5, or some combination of the three—will influence implementation details, but the design principles you apply are largely independent of that choice.

Separately from UX design, gameplay design such as level design, pacing, world design, and other aspects is an art form of its own—one that’s up to you and your team, and not covered in this development guide.

UWP design basics and guidelines	Designing UWP apps
Designing for app lifecycle states	UX guidelines for launch, suspend, and resume
Design your UWP app for Xbox One and television screens	Designing for Xbox and TV
Targeting multiple device form factors (video)	Designing Games for a Windows Core World

Color guideline and palette

Following a consistent color guideline in your game improves aesthetics, aids navigation, and is a powerful tool to inform the player of menu and HUD functionality. Consistent coloring of game elements like warnings, damage, XP, and achievements can lead to cleaner UI and reduce the need for explicit labels.

Color guide

Best Practices: Color

Typography

The appropriate use of typography enhances many aspects of your game, including UI layout, navigation, readability, atmosphere, brand, and player immersion.

Typography guide

Best Practices: Typography

UI map

A UI map is a layout of game navigation and menus expressed as a flowchart. The UI map helps all involved stakeholders understand the game’s interface and navigation paths, and can expose potential roadblocks and dead ends early in the development cycle.

UI map guide

Best Practices: UI Map

Game audio

Guides and references for implementing audio in games using XAudio2, XAPO, and Windows Sonic. XAudio2 is a low-level audio API that provides signal processing and mixing foundation for developing high performance audio engines. XAPO API allows the creation of cross-platform audio processing objects (XAPO) for use in XAudio2 on both Windows and Xbox. Windows Sonic audio support allows you to add Dolby Atmos for Home Theater, Dolby Atmos for Headphones, and Windows HRTF support to your game or streaming media application.

XAudio2 APIs	Programming guide and API reference for XAudio2
Create cross-platform audio processing objects	XAPO Overview
Intro to audio concepts	Audio for games
Windows Sonic overview	Spatial sound
Windows Sonic spatial sound samples	Xbox Advanced Technology Group audio samples
Learn how to integrate Windows Sonic into your games (video)	Introducing Spatial Audio Capabilities for Xbox andВ Windows

DirectX development

Guides and references for DirectX game development.

DirectX for UWP development	DirectX programming
Tutorial: How to create a UWP DirectX game	Create a simple UWP game with DirectX
DirectX interaction with the UWP app model	The app object and DirectX
Graphics and DirectX 12 development videos (YouTube channel)	Microsoft DirectX 12 and Graphics Education
DirectX overviews and reference	DirectX Graphics and Gaming
Direct3D 12 programming guide and reference	Direct3D 12 Graphics
DirectX 12 fundamentals (video)	Better Power, Better Performance: Your Game on DirectX 12

Learning Direct3D 12

Learn what changed in Direct3D 12 and how to start programming using Direct3D 12.

Set up programming environment	Direct3D 12 programming environment setup
How to create a basic component	Creating a basic Direct3D 12 component
Changes in Direct3D 12	Important changes migrating from Direct3D 11 to Direct3D 12
How to port from Direct3D 11 to Direct3D 12	Porting from Direct3D 11 to Direct3D 12
Resource binding concepts (covering descriptor, descriptor table, descriptor heap, and root signature)	Resource binding in Direct3D 12
Managing memory	Memory management in Direct3D 12

DirectX Tool Kit and libraries

The DirectX Tool Kit, DirectX texture processing library, DirectXMesh geometry processing library, UVAtlas library, and DirectXMath library provide texture, mesh, sprite, and other utility functionality and helper classes for DirectX development. These libraries can help you save development time and effort.

Get DirectX Tool Kit for DirectX 11	DirectXTK
Get DirectX Tool Kit for DirectX 12	DirectXTK 12
Get DirectX texture processing library	DirectXTex
Get DirectXMesh geometry processing library	DirectXMesh
Get UVAtlas for creating and packing isochart texture atlas	UVAtlas
Get the DirectXMath library	DirectXMath
Direct3DВ 12 support in the DirectXTK (blog post)	Support for DirectX 12

DirectX resources from partners

These are some additional DirectX documentation created by external partners.

Nvidia: DX12 Do’s and Don’ts (blog post)	DirectX 12 on Nvidia GPUs
Intel: Efficient rendering with DirectX 12	DirectX 12 rendering on Intel Graphics
Intel: Multi adapter support in DirectX 12	How to implement an explicit multi-adapter application using DirectX 12
Intel: DirectX 12 tutorial	Collaborative white paper by Intel, Suzhou Snail and Microsoft

Production

Your studio is now fully engaged and moving into the production cycle, with work distributed throughout your team. You’re polishing, refactoring, and extending the prototype to craft it into a full game.

Notifications and live tiles

A tile is your game’s representation on the Start Menu. Tiles and notifications can drive player interest even when they aren’t currently playing your game.

Developing tiles and badges	Tiles, badges, and notifications
Sample illustrating live tiles and notifications	Notifications sample
Adaptive tile templates (blog post)	Adaptive Tile Templates — Schema and Documentation
Designing tiles and badges	Guidelines for tiles and badges
Windows 10 app for interactively developing live tile templates	Notifications Visualizer
UWP Tile Generator extension for Visual Studio	Tool for creating all required tiles using single image
UWP Tile Generator extension for Visual Studio (blog post)	Tips on using the UWP Tile Generator tool

Enable in-app product (add-on) purchases

An add-on (in-app product) is a supplementary item that players can purchase in-game. Add-ons can be game levels, items, or anything else that your players might enjoy. Used appropriately, add-ons can provide revenue while improving the game experience. You define and publish your game’s add-ons through Partner Center, and enable in-app purchases in your game’s code.

Durable add-ons	Enable in-app product purchases
Consumable add-ons	Enable consumable in-app product purchases
Add-on details and submission	Add-on submissions
Monitor add-on sales and demographics for your game	Add-on acquisitions report

Debugging, performance optimization, and monitoring

To optimize performance, take advantage of Game Mode in Windows 10 to provide your gamers with the best possible gaming experience by fully utilizing the capacity of their current hardware.

The Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT) consists of performance monitoring tools that produce in-depth performance profiles of Windows operating systems and applications. This is especially useful for monitoring memory usage and improving game performance. The Windows Performance Toolkit is included in the Windows 10 SDK and Windows ADK. This toolkit consists of two independent tools: Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) and Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA). ProcDump, which is part of Windows Sysinternals, is a command-line utility that monitors CPU spikes and generates dump files during game crashes.

Performance test your code	Cloud based load testing
Get Xbox console type using Gaming Device Information	Gaming Device Information
Improve performance by getting exclusive or priority access to hardware resources using Game Mode APIs	Game Mode
Get Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT) from Windows 10 SDK	Windows 10 SDK
Get Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT) from Windows ADK	Windows ADK
Troubleshoot unresponsible UI using Windows Performance Analyzer (video)	Critical path analysis with WPA
Diagnose memory usage and leaks using Windows Performance Recorder (video)	Memory footprint and leaks
Get ProcDump	ProcDump
Learn to use ProcDump (video)	Configure ProcDump to create dump files

Advanced DirectX techniques and concepts

Some portions of DirectX development can be nuanced and complex. When you get to the point in production where you need to dig down into the details of your DirectX engine, or debug difficult performance problems, the resources and information in this section can help.

PIX on Windows	Performance tuning and debugging tool for DirectX 12 on Windows
Debugging and validation tools for D3D12 development (video)	D3D12 Performance Tuning and Debugging with PIX and GPUВ Validation
Optimizing graphics and performance (video)	Advanced DirectX 12 Graphics and Performance
DirectX graphics debugging (video)	Solve the tough graphics problems with your game using DirectX Tools
Visual Studio 2015 tools for debugging DirectX 12 (video)	DirectX tools for Windows 10 in Visual Studio 2015
Direct3D 12 programming guide	Direct3D 12 Programming Guide
Combining DirectX and XAML	DirectX and XAML interop

High dynamic range (HDR) content development

Build game content that uses the full color capabilities of HDR.

Introduction to HDR and color concepts (video)	Lighting up HDR and advanced color in DirectX
Learn how to render HDR content and detect whether the current display supports it	HDR sample
Create and configure an advanced color using DirectX	Direct2D advanced color image rendering sample

Globalization and localization

Develop world-ready games for the Windows platform and learn about the international features built into Microsoft’s top products.

Preparing your game for the global market	Guidelines when developing for a global audience
Bridging languages, cultures, and technology	Online resource for language conventions and standard Microsoft terminology

Submitting and publishing your game

The following guides and information help make the publishing and submission process as smooth as possible.

Publishing

You’ll use Partner Center to publish and manage your game packages.

Partner Center app publishing	Publish Windows apps
Partner Center advanced publishing (GDN)	Partner Center advanced publishing guide
Use Azure Active Directory (AAD) to add users to your Partner Center account	Manage account users
Rating your game (blog post)	Single workflow to assign age ratings using IARC system

Packaging and uploading

Learn to use streaming install and optional packages (video)	Nextgen UWP app distribution: Building extensible, stream-able, componentizedВ apps
Divide and group content to enable streaming install	UWP App Streaming install
Create optional packages like DLC game content	Optional packages and related set authoring
Package your UWP game	Packaging apps
Package your UWP DirectX game	Package your UWP DirectX game
Packaging your game as a 3rd party developer (blog post)	Create uploadable packages without publisher’s store account access
Creating app packages and app package bundles using MakeAppx	Create packages using app packager tool MakeAppx.exe
Signing your files digitally using SignTool	Sign files and verify signatures in files using SignTool
Uploading and versioning your game	Upload app packages

Policies and certification

Don’t let certification issues delay your game’s release. Here are policies and common certification issues to be aware of.

Microsoft Store App Developer Agreement	App Developer Agreement
Policies for publishing apps in the Microsoft Store	Microsoft Store Policies
How to avoid some common app certification issues	Avoid common certification failures

Store manifest (StoreManifest.xml)

The store manifest (StoreManifest.xml) is an optional configuration file that can be included in your app package. The store manifest provides additional features that are not part of the AppxManifest.xml file. For example, you can use the store manifest to block installation of your game if a target device doesn’t have the specified minimum DirectX feature level, or the specified minimum system memory.

Store manifest schema

StoreManifest schema (Windows 10)

Game lifecycle management

After you’ve finished development and shipped your game, it’s not «game over». You may be done with development on version one, but your game’s journey in the marketplace has only just begun. You’ll want to monitor usage and error reporting, respond to user feedback, and publish updates to your game.

Partner Center analytics and promotion

Partner Center analytics	Analyze app performance
Learn how your customers are engaging with the Xbox features in your game	Xbox analytics report
Responding to customer reviews	Respond to customer reviews
Ways to promote your game	Promote your apps

Visual Studio Application Insights

Visual Studio Application Insights provides performance, telemetry, and usage analytics for your published game. Application Insights helps you detect and solve issues after your game is released, continuously monitor and improve usage, and understand how players are continuing to interact with your game. Application Insights works by adding an SDK into your app, which sends telemetry to the Azure portal.

Application performance and usage analytics	Visual Studio Application Insights
Enable Application Insights in Windows apps	Application Insights for Windows Phone and Store apps

Third party solutions for analytics and promotion

Understand player behavior using GameAnalytics	GameAnalytics
Connect your UWP game to Google Analytics	Get Windows SDK for Google Analytics
Learn how to use Windows SDK for Google Analytics (video)	Getting started with Windows SDK for Google Analytics
Use Facebook App Installs Ads to promote your game to Facebook users	Get Windows SDK for Facebook
Learn how to use Facebook App Installs Ads (video)	Getting started with Windows SDK for Facebook
Use Vungle to add video ads into your games	Get Windows SDK for Vungle

Creating and managing content updates

To update your published game, submit a new app package with a higher version number. After the package makes its way through submission and certification, it will automatically be available to customers as an update.

Updating and versioning your game	Package version numbering
Game package management guidance	Guidance for app package management

Adding Xbox Live to your game

Xbox Live is a premier gaming network that connects millions of gamers across the world. Developers gain access to Xbox Live features that can organically grow their game’s audience, including Xbox Live presence, Leaderboards, Cloud Saves, Game Hubs, Clubs, Party Chat, Game DVR, and more.

If you would like to develop Xbox Live enabled titles, there are several options are available to you. For info about the various programs, see Developer program overview.