WebView2 on Xbox with GDK

[AshleyScirra]

I'm finding it difficult to understand all the technologies involved (which seem to have changed several times over the years), but as far as I can tell, the GDK is now the preferred way to publish to Xbox (ref):

Using Win32 + GDK is the primary, supported app model to build games for Xbox console, Xbox Game Pass (both Xbox and PC), and Xbox Game Streaming**.

Currently it seems WebView2 on Xbox is only supported via UWP, which apparently is no longer the preferred way to develop for Xbox:

UWP apps and games are community-supported only; partners inside Xbox managed programs (Xbox, Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Game Streaming) should use Microsoft Win32 + GDK.

So it seems that while there is WebView2/Windows/Win32, WebView2/Windows/UWP, and WebView2/Xbox/UWP, there isn't yet WebView2/Xbox/Win32, which precludes using the GDK.

Have I got that right? Is support for WebView2 on Xbox with Win32 + GDK planned? This seems to be important for publishing web games to Xbox using WebView2.

[victorhuangwq]

@nishitha-burman could you help @AshleyScirra out?

[AshleyScirra]

Perhaps we can use the GDK via Win32 calls inside a UWP app? This article appears to indicate it's supported to some extent, but it's not clear if this is supported/permitted on Xbox.

[nthorn]

In general, the GDK is the recommended framework for shipping (traditional) games on Xbox. But if you're planning to build a web-based game, it may make more sense to build it on top of UWP so you can take advantage of WebView2. UWP is still the recommended platform for building apps for Xbox. The GDK does not offer any kind of WebView2 integration.

[AshleyScirra]

Yes, I think using WebView2 means we have to use UWP. But do you know if we can use the GDK from C++ code in a UWP app? I'd happily write all the integration myself if that's allowed. I guess I should ask someone on the Xbox team too, and I'm trying to get in touch with someone there.

[nthorn]

There are no current plans to bring WebView2 to the GDK; legacy WebView is not supported on top of the GDK either. If you're looking to display web content in a GDK application your best bet is to look for a 3rd party middleware solution.

[AshleyScirra]

That's a real shame - for us one of the main points of WebView2 is to avoid these third-party custom-compiled browser engines like Electron and NW.js. In particular it also risks losing JIT support and so a lot of performance if the code generation is not allowed to be done in the app instead of by the system (although I don't know what the Xbox rules around this are exactly).

I'm not aware that Electron or NW.js have any Xbox ports, and a web search has turned up nothing for middleware that provides a browser engine that it says works on Xbox. Is that all behind NDA? Can you point me in the direction of any public middleware providers that have a browser engine that can run on Xbox with the GDK?

[nthorn]

These are the two that I'm personally aware of:

• https://coherent-labs.com/
• https://ultralig.ht/

Though these are more commonly used for game UI; I don't know if they would be effective for rendering your whole application.

[AshleyScirra]

OK, thanks for the pointers. It's not all good news for us but thanks for the help and taking the time to answer my questions, I appreciate it.

[AshleyScirra]

(For what it's worth: Coherent Gameface is not a full browser engine, and Ultralight lacks key features like WebGL and HTML5 audio, so I don't think either are feasible. I do think there's a gap in the market for a full Chromium browser engine for the GDK, but we don't have the resources to do that.)