Microsoft claimed today that it will bring the art of making console games to the masses with a set of free tools, called XNA Game Studio Express, based on the XNA platform.

The Redmond giant pointed out that, in the 30 years of video game development, the art of making console games has been reserved for those with big projects, big budgets and the backing of big game labels.

But Microsoft argues that its offering will "democratise game development" by delivering the necessary tools to hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios.

Chris Satchell, general manager of the Game Developer Group at Microsoft, announced details of the technology during his keynote presentation today at Gamefest 2006, a Microsoft game developer event.

XNA Game Studio Express will be available free to anyone with a Windows XP-based PC.

By joining a "creators club" for an annual subscription fee of $99, would-be developers will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360 and access materials to help speed the game development progress.

This represents the first significant opportunity for novice developers to make a console game without a significant investment in resources, Microsoft claimed.

Satchell highlighted a deal Microsoft has signed with 3-D authoring software firm Autodesk to allow game developers and enthusiasts more easily to incorporate content into XNA Game Studio Express via Autodesk's FBX file exchange format.

The XNA Game Studio Express beta will be available on 30 August as a free download for development on the Windows XP platform. The final version of XNA Game Studio Express will be available this holiday season.

"By unlocking retail Xbox 360 consoles for community-created games, we are ushering in a new era of cross-platform games based on the XNA platform," said Satchell.

"We are looking forward to the day when all the resulting talent-sharing and creativity transforms into a thriving community of user-created games on Xbox 360."