Microsoft launches Xbox Academy; Free Xbox and PC Game Development Classes

Microsoft, known pretty much around the world for its technology, is launching something called Xbox Academy this week in its Microsoft Store in Sydney, Australia. Xbox Academy is a series of free game development classes made in collaboration with the Academy of Interactive Entertainment.

The AIE is a multi-national and non-profit college primarily focused on video game development, animation, and visual effects. This week also happens to be Australia's Easter school holiday. This is in an effort to get young minds interested in game design and give the opportunity to those who want to get a taste of the process.

The program features three different courses led by AIE tutors, covering game design, game programming and developing games specifically for the Xbox One. All the courses are similar to what is taught at the actual college, and the cost is covered by the Microsoft store. Each class is three hours long.

GameSpot recently got the chance to take a media session of these courses, in which they detailed their experience here.

"The emphasis is that students can easily continue to pursue the skills and programs they learn during the Xbox Academy courses at home. Unity is a free download, and every Xbox One can easily be turned into a development kit. Participants of the Xbox Academy program will be able to save any work done at the Microsoft Store onto a complimentary USB flash drive and continue working on their projects."

The courses may have a focus on Xbox, but the lessons learned are transferable to other formats as well, sowing the seeds of future game developers for sure. Xbox Academy classes will run from April 10 to April 22, 2017. Find more information on the workshops here.