Step 3: Join ID@XBOX
After you enroll to Partner Center, you can start developing XBOX games by using the Game Development Kit (GDK) with limited XBOX features. At this stage, you can join the ID@XBOX program. Joining ID@XBOX creates a business relationship with XBOX, and grants access to the tools, resources, and support that you need to develop and publish your games for XBOX consoles and XBOX on PC.
Prerequisites
Begin your application
To begin your application to ID@XBOX, sign in to the XBOX Partner Dashboard and select Apply to ID@XBOX.
- Verify your Contact details. These are the details you provided earlier when you registered as an XBOX partner.
- If necessary, use the Other addresses section to provide a shipping address that’s different from your business address. This address is used for XBOX development kit hardware.
- Provide your Business information, including:
- Registered business number, such as a tax ID.
- Whether you’re acting as a Developer, Publisher, or both.
- Details about your Studio presence, such as a website and public game trailers.
- If you’re ready to proceed, select Submit. If you’re not ready to submit, select Save and close.
Submit a game concept
An approved game concept is required for all XBOX games and to continue your application to ID@XBOX, you must submit at least one game concept for approval. The concept is your chance to introduce your game and help us understand your vision. Make sure you provide accurate information that represents your intended final game. It’s also a good idea to review your game to ensure your content feels at home on XBOX and isn’t overly vulgar, offensive, or objectionable. For more information, see Game concepts.
If you’re building multiple games, you don’t need to wait for your first game concept to be reviewed before submitting the next. You can submit up to 10 concepts for review simultaneously.
- In the Game concepts section of the XBOX Partner Dashboard, select Create game concept. If you already started a game concept, select the draft concept from the list.
- Complete the game concept form with details that support your application, including:
- The developer and publisher for your game.
- Your game’s key features and a description of your game.
- Your target release date, and any actual release dates if your game is already available on other platforms.
- The platforms your game releases on, or is already released on.
- Your game’s market availability and pricing.
- The XBOX network functionality and User Generated Content (UGC) capabilities your game supports.
- Any supplementary material, such as gameplay videos or trailers.
- When you’re ready to proceed, select Submit. If you’re not ready to submit, select Save and close.
The XBOX team reviews your submission and provides an application decision. XBOX reviews new concepts every business day (Monday to Friday), but it can take up to 3 weeks (typically 10 to 15 business days) to complete the review and provide a decision.
What happens after a decision
After we review your concept, you receive an email letting you know the outcome:
- If your concept is approved, you receive a confirmation email and the agreements you need to sign to continue. We provide more details about these agreements in the next step.
- If we need more information, we let you know what we need before you can move forward. You can return to the XBOX Partner Dashboard, make changes, and resubmit your concept.
- If your concept is rejected, we let you know that your game isn’t approved for release on XBOX. If you’re developing multiple games, you can return to the XBOX Partner Dashboard to submit a different game concept for review.
You can select your game’s concept from the XBOX Partner Dashboard to see the approval and contract statuses.
Sign your agreements
If your game concept is approved, congratulations! When your application is successful and your game concept is approved, you receive emails containing new agreements to sign. These agreements include:
- A Title Licensing Agreement (TLA) for your game.
- An XBOX Game Development Kit (GDK) License Agreement for development hardware and software.
Review and sign each agreement by following the instructions provided in the approval email. The agreements you sign here establish the terms of your concept approval under your licensing agreement with Microsoft and terms under which you can use the GDK. You need to sign both agreements to continue your application to ID@XBOX.
What happens next?
After your game concept is approved and you sign the TLA and GDK agreements, your application to ID@XBOX is complete and you join the program. At this stage:
- Your Partner Center account receives the permissions necessary for full XBOX development and publishing features.
- You can start developing games using full XBOX features and services.
- The ID@XBOX team continues onboarding your studio for access to XBOX development kit hardware and royalty payouts for your games.
- You can pitch your game to XBOX to submit for strategic funding opportunities, including XBOX Game Pass and the Developer Acceleration Program.
Next steps
