Defold 1.14 adds Xbox support
Developers approved for Xbox can now build Defold games for Xbox consoles. The release also adds cubemap render targets, a redesigned Material Editor and Metal by default on macOS.
Defold 1.14.0 was released on 12 October, and its headline is console reach: developers approved for Xbox console development can now build their Defold games for Microsoft Xbox. To get access, your organisation must first be approved by Microsoft, and Defold says it will cover Xbox support in more detail in a separate announcement.
The release also prepares Defold for iPhone Duo, with improvements to iOS lifecycle handling and mobile GUI layouts. On the rendering side, cubemap render targets make custom reflections and environment capture possible, and macOS builds now use Metal by default. Native extension developers get shader storage buffers in the dmSDK.
The editor gets a redesigned Material Editor with clearer sections, lower CPU use when working with several tabs, better text shaping for complex scripts, emoji and bidirectional text, and configurable tab navigation shortcuts. Game object handles are now generational, and a collection can hold up to 1,048,576 game objects.
Why it matters: Defold is a free, lightweight engine popular for 2D and mobile games, and Xbox support widens the platforms its users can ship on without changing engines. Teams already on Defold can upgrade for the editor and rendering improvements now, and look out for the dedicated Xbox announcement for setup details.
Source: Defold blog (official post, opens in a new tab)
