Microsoft Rebrands XNA Creators Club as 'App Hub,' Adds Windows Phone 7 Support

Microsoft has quietly re-branded its XNA Creators Club independent Xbox 360 development initiative, now called App Hub, to include support for Windows Phone 7 development. The new App Hub site features the tag line "Develop for Windows Phone & Xbox 360" and includes details on the Windows Phone app development and submission process. A $99 annual App hub subscription, or a free student account through Microsoft's DreamSpark, allows for unlimited submissions to the Windows Phone Marketplace, in contrast to the 10 game limit for submissions to Xbox 360's Indie Games Marketplace. However, App Hub subscribers will have to pay $19.99 for each free Windows Phone game or app submitted after the fifth. Existing subscribers to Windows Phone Marketplace or Creators Club Online will be folded into the newly branded initative, according to the site. Windows Phone 7 developers will receive 70 percent of the revenues for sales on the phone marketplace, after country-specific taxes are levied. The top-level game category on the Windows Phone Marketplace is subdivided into ten separate game genres, including a category specifically for "Xbox Companion" games. The rebranding comes after Microsoft on Monday laid out details of its Windows Phone 7 launch, which will include nine handsets and games from a variety of major publishers. The new mobile operating system includes support for many Xbox Live features, including Achievements, Gamerscore, Leaderboards and turn-based play between mobile and Xbox 360 users.