iGame Radio

GameSalad has unveiled a new “Free to Make” subscription program for developers using the GameSalad Creator, a free, visual-based game creation software platform that enables any user to develop games without prior programming knowledge. Concurrent with this announcement is the release of GameSalad 0.9.0 Beta.

In the “Free to Make” model, a Basic subscription is offered for free. The Professional subscription includes everything in the Basic version, plus iAD functionality, promotional links, and priority tech support for developers, and costs $499 a year. Current Express and Pro users have the option of upgrading to this Professional membership level for only $99 for the first year. This “Legacy User Upgrade Offer” expires Dec 31, 2010.

For either subscription, developers will continue to publish games under their personal Apple iPhone Developer accounts, which will still be required in order to publish and test their iOS creations on Apple devices.

This new subscription model was launched concurrent with the GameSalad 0.9.0 Beta, which features a redesigned Dashboard and Pubishing Wizard. Gendai Games, creators of GameSalad, claim that users can now manage their online portfolios, get the latest GameSalad news, and submit their games to the App Store with significantly more speed and ease.

Both GameSalad 0.9.0 Beta and information about becoming a member are available from the GameSalad website.