The March 2012 release of the Durango XDK from Microsoft contains the following new features, tools, and documentation.
For features that shipped in a previous Durango XDK release, see the What’s New document for that release.
The most recent release notes and XDK updates can always be found on Durango Downloads on the Xbox Game Developer site. For access, log in with your ID and password on https://developer.xboxlive.com/; at the top of the page, point to Development, click Downloads, and then select Durango from the dropdown.
The Durango developer support group sends e-mail to Durango developers whenever a new Durango XDK is released. Also, you can check with your account manager for the latest information about upcoming Durango XDK releases.
Companion Applications
Durango gives users rich new entertainment experiences by transforming the devices they already own into natural extensions of their game world. Players can use their devices to access inventory, maps, HUDs, or anything you can imagine. This release provides a preview API and a companion program for Windows PCs and tablets. See Developing the Console Side of a SmartGlass Experience for details.
Changes to the Development Environment
There have been a number of detailed technical changes to the development templates for Durango, refer to the Upgrading Applications topic. [Editor’s Note: This topic has been removed from recent versions of the Durango XDK help file. If you are using a current version of the Durango XDK, the information in that topic is no longer relevant.]