Dev duet: GameSalad and GameMaker: Studio announce support for Windows 8

A series of moves likely to bring a smile to the big bods in Redmond, popular game creation tools GameSalad Creator and GamerMaker: Studio have both unveiled support for Windows 8 ahead of its launch on 26 October.

Both tools are designed to enable streamlined game development, side-stepping lengthy dev time or complicated coding and, in Windows 8's case, bolstering app stores apace.

GameMaking a move

YoYo Games has revealed GameMaker: Studio for Windows 8's launch is imminent, with the firm confirming it will also be introducing GameMaker: Studio for Windows Phone 8 once handsets start hitting the market later this year.

"The beauty with GameMaker: Studio is that it's extremely easy for developers who have already or are currently developing with our environment to have Windows Style UI games ready for publishing on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 in a short amount of time," said YoYo Games CEO Sandy Duncan.

"We are thrilled to be working closely with Microsoft to launch GameMaker: Studio for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8."

And a side of salad

GameSalad Creator, meanwhile, offers a drag and drop interface for game creation, which effectively eliminates the need for coding.

It's also proven popular, with GameSalad claiming more than 400,000 developers make use of the tool.

Creator users can already export their projects to iOS, HTML5 and Android, as well as Windows and Mac. Developers will soon be able to publish their games on the Windows Store, too, ahead of the general availability of Windows 8.

"By supporting Windows 8, GameSalad developers now have the opportunity to reach all new Windows 8 users, regardless of form factor," explained GameSalad CEO Steve Felter.

"We are excited to help our developer community take full advantage of the tremendous opportunities the Windows 8 ecosystem presents."