Packing and Distributing Your Game

When you've created something incredible and want to show it off to others, XNA Game Studio makes it easy.

The App Hub offers the best way to share your game with a large community of gamers, to get feedback, and to build enthusiasm for your game.

There are a variety of ways to share and distribute your game.

• For all platforms, you can use the XNA Game Studio Package utility (xnapack.exe) to create a special package that other XNA Game Studio users can unpack and play. Using this utility allows you to share your game without exposing your source code or assets to other XNA Game Studio users.

  You can share Xbox 360 games packaged in this format with App Hub members through the App Hub Online for peer review, and possible listing on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

  You can share Windows Phone games packaged in this format through Windows Phone Marketplace for possible listing.

• For all platforms, you can choose to share your source code and assets with other XNA Game Studio users. This is useful if you would like someone to review or modify your code or assets.

• For Windows games only, you can make your game available to any Windows user by distributing your completed game executables, along with a set of prerequisite software (called "redistributables"). All Windows users can play your game, even if they do not have XNA Game Studio installed on their computer.

Sharing options available based on the design platform are identified next.

Option	Platform
	Windows-based computer	Xbox 360	Windows Phone
To share with XNA Game Studio users	See Sharing Your Game Package See Sharing Your Source Code and Assets		See Sharing Your Game Package
To share with Windows user	See Distributing Your Finished Windows Game
To share with App Hub members		See Sharing Your Game Package See Sharing Your Source Code and Assets
To share through Xbox LIVE Marketplace (after approval)		See Sharing Your Game Package
To share through Windows Phone Marketplace (after approval)		See Sharing Your Game Package

For more information, see the topics listed In This Section. There is infromation about each sharing and distribution type, including how to prepare your game to be shared or distributed, and how to play a game someone has shared with you.

In This Section

• Sharing Your Game Package
  Describes how to distribute your game to other XNA Game Studio users in a package that protects your source code and assets.
• Sharing Your Source Code and Assets
  Presents information about sharing your game's source code and assets with other XNA Game Studio users.
• Distributing Your Finished Windows Game
  Presents information about how to share your game with any Windows user, even if the user does not have XNA Game Studio installed.
• XNA Game Studio Package Utility
  Describes the XNA Game Studio package utility.