   Is Win32+ DirectX Best way to go for professional gaming
  Pretty much im learning WIN32 but its so darn hard!.I want to use C++ is there any other alternatives?   
  professional gaming?for this you'd rather want to grab a beta key for starcraft2...sorry couldn't resist :)   ;  what you mean?   ;  I think he meant playing games professionally. I assume you mean programming them professionally.If your aim is to get to work at one of the big game companies then yes, Direct3D will likely be a good choice. However, OpenGL is not a bad choice, either. Then again, creating mods for existing games is often a good way to get into the industry, as long as you can create high quality ones. The important thing is to prove you can create something working and enjoyable.If you're interested in creating indie games, then you have a lot more choices, and choosing an existing game engine may be a better way to go, as it will take care of interfacing with the OS, doing a user interface, sound, and other tasks which are important for a game. Googling "3D game engine" can be a good start for that.   ;  Ok thanks for the help..I guess ill have to go along with win32:D   ;  The Win32 code required for a 3D game is pretty minimal. It's mostly a message loop that also calls rendering and handling input (mouse/keyboard). Win32 is a huge subject, and if you're interested in games, I'd suggest you concentrate on Direct3D, not Win32.   ;  C++ is still the primary programming language for most professional game development studios. But having knowledge in other languages is a plus as these studios make use of them. Parts of a game could be written by using Script languages like LUA. Tools are written in C# and so on. Beside of these it’s less about the APIs it’s more about the concepts. Professional game developers need to be able to pick up different APIs as consoles make use of their own that are not public. As most PC games today use WIN32 and DirectX it would definitely not hurt if you know something about these APIs if you are looking for a job in game development. But the most significant thing you should be able to prove if you are looking for a job in game development is the ability to finish a game by your own. It doesn’t matter that much if you are using C++, the XNA Game Studio or even Flash as long as it is something complete. 