Silicon Studio has today launched the Xenko game engine, a new scaleable development platform for everything from mobile videogames to realistic virtual reality (VR) experiences and beyond. Xenko is free for educational use, small studios and individual users, with larger studios paying a nominal monthly fee. To celebrate the launch, Silicon Studio is offering all users access to the engine’s unrestricted Pro plan at no cost and with no registration requirements through 31st July 2017.

Using the latest version of C#, the open source engine features high-end realistic rendering, multithreading with support for the latest graphic APIs (Vulkan & DirectX 12), nested prefabs, particle effects, a built-in script editor and more.

“We worked with developers to create a tool that lets them explore their creativity without running into some of the limitations they may find with other game engines,” said Terada Takehiko, CEO of Silicon Studio. “By offering advantages like C# and photorealistic rendering, we’re positioning Xenko as the top choice for creators working in 3D, VR and everything in between.”

Compared to the previously available beta version, the commercial release boasts major improvements including VR support – with features such as binaural audio, single pass rendering, multi-sampling anti-aliasing (MSAA), one-click VR setup; scene streaming management, a pipeline rendering editor, and light probes (a first step to global illumination), along with greatly improved stability.

“I’ve been developing with the Xenko engine for over two years now,” said beta user and game developer Filip Dusek, creator of the videogame Children of the Galaxy. “I’m really pleased with the performance and stability of the engine. The renderer is remarkable – both in terms of use and the visual results.”

To celebrate the launch, Silicon Studio is introducing the Xenko Welcome Campaign, allowing unfettered access to the Pro and Personal plans without registration and at no cost until 31st July 2017. Following the conclusion of the welcome program, users that took advantage of the Pro Plan who wish switch to the Personal Plan can simply register their account and select the Personal option (studio size restrictions apply). For more details, see the campaign page.

Pricing for Xenko is broken into four tiers:

Xenko Personal – Free for small studios, personal, and students

Xenko Pro – Designed for small to medium-sized studios; $75 per month (free until July 31, 2017)

Xenko Pro Plus – Designed for larger studios; $150 per month

Xenko Custom – Available to accommodate teams with a variety of special needs, projects, and requirements.

For full details, see the Xenko license plan page.

A Xenko Education version is free for students and universities for use in non-commercial education uses.

Xenko is available for PC, and allows developers to build games for Windows, iOS, Android and Xbox One, with support for other consoles coming soon. Xenko can be downloaded directly through the Xenko website and VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest VR updates for the platform.