I have a retail Xbox one console with Dev Mode activated Unity (latest free version) and a MSDN individual developer account.
I am able to deploy test apps from Visual studio on the Xbox however i want to know how do i build and run apps on Xbox from Unity?
I contacted unity and they said i need approval from my account manager however I'm an individual developer.
What I want to do is deploy from Unity to Xbox one I'm running parallel from a Mac (Windows 10 version) but Unity is installed on my Mac.
Developer Mode can be enabled on any retail Xbox console, via the “Retail to Dev Kit conversion” app found in the Xbox store. After Developer Mode is enabled on your retail console, you can switch back and forth between Retail (2a) and Developer Modes (2b).
Assassin's Creed Unity - Xbox One.
Xbox's dev mode began as a simple $25 devkit for Xbox One and Series X/S developers. However, when owners found out that the emulation frontend, RetroArch, could be used to emulate various consoles on Series X/S and One consoles, it became a new reason for players to adopt Xbox's next-gen consoles.
However, having a Microsoft Account is not enough to publish a game across the Xbox One platform. To register an app title, you need to have the status of an App Developer. To register as a developer, you will have to pay a certain one-time fee.
After some research here is a way to run a Unity built app on a retail XboxOne Developer enabled console.
Before you need a MSDN developer account A machine running Windows 10 and a XboxOne retail console.
From Unity click File -> Build settings.
Switch the platform to Windows Store (be sure to hit Switch platform for the change to take effect).
Change the SDK to universal 10 and UWP build type to D3D or XAML.
Create a new folder on your desktop (YourAppFolder)
Select Build and save the project to your newly created folder.
Open the VS project configure the build settings to run the project on your XboxOne dev console (instructions can be found in this link)
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/xbox-apps/getting-started
Basically thats it enjoy your newly created project running on your XboxOne.
Of course to publish games on the Xbox One platform you need to apply to ID@XBOX program more info on the topic can be found on their website.
More helpful information can be found on the links provided:
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/holographic/exporting_and_building_a_unity_visual_studio_solution
10/10/2016
Hey MS has added a great documentation on this matter look into this link :
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/xbox-apps/development-lanes-unity
And a video version of this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Ptvw7k-CE
09/03/2017
From the Ms website another great resource.
https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2016/04/18/intro-to-porting-unity-3d-games-to-uwp-building-and-deploying/#2dx9hHw4uQZmsDGc.97
10/05/2017
After importing a Unity plugin and trying to build to UWP i encountered Unity compiler errors after help from the plugin publisher and some digging if you experience the same issues you can do the following :
On the build menu after selecting the Windows 10 platform etc press on the menu "Player settings" there under the Configuration tab you can change the .NET backend to ILCPP this should (and i repeat should) solve the compiler errors.
After opening the project on VS you will not have the same configuration for the remote machine to configure 1st set to remote machine then select Project -> Properties -> Debugging and in there you configure your remote machine settings your XboxOne should be on the same network.
02/08/2019 update.
Found this great video on YouTube (credits go to the uploader Filmstorm) on how to deploy to the Xbox One from Unity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uibEl3SmI1k
Unity 2019 update (12/08/2019).
Even though the process has not changed much here are the steps to run a Unity game from VS 2017 directly to your XboxOne console.
Assuming you have the developer licence and enabled your XboxOne dev app.
Under file select Build settings then switch the platform to Universal windows platform.
After that make sure the Architecture is set to x64 and Build type is D3D and Build configuration is Release.
After that head on to Player settings under Player -> certificate create a new certificate and save it somewhere you can then fetch it.
Click build and save to a folder of your choice.
After the build is completed open the .sin project change on the VS tool bar from Debug to Release, x64 and target to remote machine.
Under yourprojectName(universal windows) open Package.appxmanifest -> Packaging -> Publisher select the certificate you have created and close the tab.
Right click on yourprojectName(universal windows) -> Properties -> Debugging select remote machine under machine name type your XboxOne name (can be found on the xbox dev home) apply and close.
Press the play button on VS (the run process may take a few minutes) and your Unity built game should be running on your dev enabled XboxOne console.
Enjoy.
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