We're pleased to announce Construct 2 r212.2 adds support for publishing Windows 10 Universal apps to the Windows Store! This is a free update available to all existing licensed users and available with all new licenses too, allowing developers to target the new platform at no additional cost. The Universal apps Construct 2 exports work on both Windows 10 for desktop which launched on June 29th, as well as Windows 10 Mobile which is due for launch later this year.
Windows 10 can run Store apps windowed on the desktop, which is a significant usability improvement over Windows 8.x Store apps. Windows 10 also features the new and much improved Microsoft Edge browser, which also powers Windows 10 Store apps. Based on the IE11 browser engine, Edge has been radically modernised and is competitive with other modern browsers. Some of its improvements of specific interest to Construct 2 developers include:
- Web Audio support, bringing significantly improved audio performance as well as the ability to use a variety of audio effects
- Gamepad input support
- User Media support (for live camera and microphone input)
- Significantly improved Javascript performance
- HTTP/2 support
- Better support for Construct 2's XML plugin
- A faster release cycle with more frequent improvements
Construct 2 r212.2 also brings compatibility improvements and bug fixes specific to Microsoft Edge, as well as a new "Edge" entry in the Preview Browser list for direct previewing with the new browser.
Sadly Edge lacks support for open audio and video codecs like Ogg Vorbis, so we must keep on dual-encoding media. Edge is also currently only available on Windows 10, although the upgrade to Windows 10 is free for Windows 7 and 8 users for a year. Edge still represents great progress since IE11 and we recommend to take advantage of the free upgrade if your system is compatible so you can test with the Edge browser and publish to the Windows 10 Store. Construct 2 itself is also fully compatible with Windows 10.
Exporting Windows 10 Store apps
Make sure you have updated to Construct 2 r212.2. You will also need Windows 10, so take advantage of the one-year free upgrade period if you can! Then in the Export Project dialog, simply choose the Windows Store option and make sure the Universal 10+ (VS2015) option is selected. Note this is not available in the Free edition - you will need a license. Construct 2 will export a Visual Studio 2015 project which you can open with Visual Studio 2015 Community, available for free. For more information see the tutorial How to export Windows Store apps.
According to StatCounter, Windows 10 has already claimed over 6% of the worldwide desktop OS market in less than a month, representing tens of millions of users. This will continue to increase as users keep upgrading and the Windows 10 free update rollout continues throughout the rest of the year. With free upgrades and positive reviews, Windows 10 looks like a compelling new place to publish.
About Xbox One support
At Scirra we understand that Microsoft has plans to update the Xbox One to Windows 10. This would allow Windows 10 Universal apps to also run on the Xbox One. We also understand that Microsoft is working on the capability to turn any retail unit in to a dev kit. Obviously this is very exciting, but at this time we do not have any specific guarantees from Microsoft about how this will work, who it will be available to, or if there will be a cost or approval process to go through. Rest assured that if Microsoft make it possible, we will work to bring support as soon as possible!
More to come
While it's already possible to publish to the Windows 10 store, we have further tweaks and improvements planned, including reviewing pubCenter support. Stay tuned for further updates and remember you can opt in to beta releases to get access to new features sooner and help make sure everything is working smoothly. Happy publishing!