Defold adds support for Microsoft Xbox

The Defold Foundation is pleased to announce that the Defold game engine now officially supports game development for Microsoft Xbox consoles.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - October 12, 2026 - The Defold Foundation today announced the availability of Microsoft Xbox development in Defold 1.14.0 for approved Xbox developers provided free of charge. This completes a major expansion of Defold’s console capabilities, with the engine now supporting the three major console platform families: Microsoft Xbox, PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®5, and Nintendo Switch.

Getting access to Xbox development

Developers must first be approved for Xbox console development. Read the Microsoft game publishing page to learn about Microsoft’s publishing programmes, including ID@Xbox, and complete the registration and approval process.

ID@Xbox (Independent Developers @ Xbox) is a program by Microsoft that lets independent game developers self-publish digital games on Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and cloud gaming platforms.

Once Microsoft has approved your organisation, sign in to the Xbox middleware page using an account associated with it, find Defold, and request access.

After the request has been verified, the Defold Foundation will provide access to the Xbox-specific resources and instructions, including:

• the Xbox extension with platform integrations such as user management and game saves,
• information about the required development tools and the workflow for building, bundling, and testing Xbox games,
• access to Xbox-specific developer support.

The Microsoft Xbox development manual contains the current access and setup instructions.

Xbox support is available from Defold 1.14.0, with platform-specific functionality and documentation provided free of charge to approved developers. Console development requires additional tools that we cannot distribute due to NDA restrictions. The manual explains how to access the setup instructions.

Defold games on consoles

Defold now supports all three major console platform families: Microsoft Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Defold developers have already released games across Nintendo Switch and PlayStation. Here is a selection of some games demonstrating the engine in commercial console production:

Game	Developer	Console
Fates of Ort	8BitSkull	Nintendo Switch
Void Scrappers	8BitSkull	Nintendo Switch
Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived	Critique Gaming	Nintendo Switch
Sector 781	171Dev	Nintendo Switch
Duo Zombies	Flazm	Nintendo Switch
Trigger Dungeon	171Dev	Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4 & 5
Tiny Racing	171Dev	Nintendo Switch
Boba Tea Merge	Artex Games	Nintendo Switch
Ghosts and Apples	Rough Cyber Humans	Nintendo Switch

Adding Xbox support gives Defold developers another option to reach console audiences. We’re happy about the support for all major consoles now making Defold games cross-platform. Build a game from a shared code base, add the platform integrations required for each target, and ship across web, mobile, desktop, and consoles.

We are excited to see the first Defold games arrive on Xbox and to support developers as they bring their projects to a new audience!

About Defold

Defold is a free-to-use, source-available game engine with a developer-friendly license for creating cross-platform games. Developers use Defold to ship games on web, mobile, desktop, and consoles. Defold is known for its small runtime, focus on performance, fast workflows, and friendly community.

About Defold Foundation

The Defold Foundation is the owner of the Defold game engine. The foundation works together with industry partners and community to provide software and services to game developers across the globe. The foundation was created in May 2020 and is registered in Stockholm, Sweden.

Contact

Björn Ritzl
Chairperson, Defold Foundation
bjorn@defold.se

Microsoft and Xbox are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. PlayStation is a trademark or registered trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Nintendo Switch is a trademark of Nintendo.