multiprocessor platforms. With the computer industry's focus on CPUs with more cores that can execute more threads, this is becoming increasingly important. Consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 already have more than one core per processor, and execute more than one thread per core. Hobbyists The only platforms widely available for hobbyists to program are consumer operating systems, such as Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. This is because development on game consoles requires special development systems that cost thousands of dollars. Often these must be obtained from the console manufacturer and are only sold or leased to professional game development studios. However, Microsoft used to distribute a game development framework, XNA, which runs on both Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. XNA was discontinued, but other projects like MonoGame and SharpDX are trying to allow the same access for game coding. Lately, Android is the most popular hobbyist platform of choice for mobile developers. Some hobbyists also develop homebrew games, especially for handheld systems or modded consoles. Some software engineering students program games as exercises for learning a programming language or operating system. Some hobbyists may use software packages that help with game development, such as Adobe Animate, Unity, Android Studio, pygame, Adventure Game Studio, GameMaker Studio, Godot, Unreal Engine, Pixel Game Maker MV, or Construct. See also List of gaming topics References External links GameDev.net, a leading resource for game development International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Game Development for Software Engineers, a short 5 day short course offered by MIT with guidance from the mentors of the award-winning MIT Game Lab. One ex-game programmer's experience in the game development industry Game industry veteran Tom Sloper's advice on game programming Wikis 2D Game Development wiki Game Development Wiki -GDwiki Video game development