Unity adds Online Services store, promises Windows 8 support

At the Unite 2012 conference in Amsterdam today, game engine maker Unity Technologies announced a number of new additions to its self-titled development platform, including a new branch of its Asset Store that offers tools and plugins for Unity's software. The new Online Services store, launching today, allows developers to download a number of new features that developers can plug into Unity's APIs, including analytics solutions, payment tools, and other related services. Unity hopes this new marketplace will give developers more options when developing and publishing Unity-authored games. The company added that many of the tools on the store will be available for free, while others will be available only for paying customers. In addition, the company announced that the Unity engine will add support for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, allowing developers to develop and deploy games for Microsoft's upcoming operating systems. Unity says this functionality will ship as part of the upcoming Unity 4 release cycle (an exact launch date has yet to be announced). Finally, the company said that its Union service, which helps port Unity-authored games to new platforms, will add support for the new Intel Atom processors for Android tablets and smartphones. For more information on Unity's latest updates, check out the company's official website.