The Android Game Development Kit (AGDK) is a set of tools and libraries that help you develop and optimize Android games while integrating with existing game development platforms and workflows.
Use, develop, or extend game engines
AGDK provides tools and libraries for adding Android support when you create or extend a game engine. It also provides plugins and integration that supports Android development on many existing game engines.
Develop in Visual Studio
You can build Android games in Visual Studio on Windows by using the Android Game Development Extension for Visual Studio (AGDE). AGDE is a Visual Studio extension that allows you to use your existing Visual Studio projects to build Android games.
Libraries
The AGDK libraries allow you to develop and optimize your game in C or C++ while accessing Android app development libraries and services.
Frame Pacing
Helps games deliver frames at a consistent pace, and adjusts the pace based on
the performance.
Reference
User Guide
Game Activity
Supports game development in C or C++ with access to Android Jetpack and
dependent services.
Reference
User Guide
Game Controller
Manages game controllers by accessing connections, features, device information,
and input data.
Reference
User Guide
Game Text Input
Displays and hides the soft keyboard, and manages text updates.
Reference
User Guide
Memory Advice API (Beta)
Helps Android apps stay within safety limits for memory use by estimating memory
use and notifying apps if thresholds are exceeded.
Reference
User Guide
Oboe High-performance audio
Reduces audio latency, while avoiding device and platform audio issues.
Reference
User Guide
Android Performance Tuner
Identifies performance issues related to quality settings, scenes, load times,
and device models.
Reference
User Guide
Android Performance Tuner Unity plugin
Integrates Android Performance Tuner with Unity.
Reference
User Guide
Library wrapper (Beta)
Generate C/C++ code to access JAR libraries from your native app. This tool provides a lightweight interface for accessing Java code without needing to write, debug, and maintain your own JNI.
Optimization
In addition to Android Performance Tuner, AGDK includes the Android GPU Inspector (AGI), which is a tool that provides advanced GPU and system profiling for graphic intensive games.
For a complete list of Android game optimization tools and best practices, see the optimization overview.
Adaptability
Adaptability is a new pillar of the AGDK focused on helping your game understand, respond to, and influence changes in the devices thermal and performance state.
CPU performance hints
Enables your game to influence dynamic CPU performance behavior without overheating the device and wasting power.
Thermal-state monitoring
Achieve performance goals by understanding the thermal state and limitations of a device.
Game Mode
Optimize gameplay by prioritizing characteristics, such as performance or battery life, based on user preferences.
Game Manager API
Update the game mode of your app, enabling Android OS to adjust to meet your performance needs.