Following earlier news from the developer event Gamefest regarding the announcement of Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express, independent/casual game publisher, developer, and technology company GarageGames has announced Torque X, the next generation of its Torque Game Engine technology and tools for use with the Microsoft XNA game development platform. XNA Game Studio Express will allow users to develop games in managed C# and play them both on the Windows PC and on retail Xbox 360 game consoles. GarageGames' Torque X is a full-featured 2D and 3D game engine which will support the editors being used in Torque Game Builder, as well as the features of the Torque Game Engine and its shader generation system. GarageGames began collaborating with Microsoft to port its technology to XNA for use with XNA Game Studio Express earlier this year. Users of the Torque Game Engine and Torque Game Builder on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms will find Torque X to be a familiar environment, while those new to Torque will still be able to take advantage of the system's powerful toolset. During a keynote presentation at the Microsoft-hosted Gamefest in Seattle, GarageGames President Mark Frohnmayer showcased the Torque suite of game engines, ending with a presentation of Xbox 360 Live Arcade title Marble Blast Ultra running in XNA. "Today, Microsoft is taking a revolutionary step forward in enabling hobbyists and students to create games in the next generation console space," said Frohnmayer. "We could not be happier that XNA Game Studio Express and our tools can connect to provide the quickest and easiest solution for anyone with the creativity and drive to make games to bring them to Windows and the Xbox 360."