'3.8.5 Release Preview 1' available

By: MonoGame Foundation Dec 19, 2025
releases

MonoGame 3.8.5 Release Preview 1 has been officially released

Celebration

We are proud to announce the first Release Preview 3.8.5 (3.8.5-preview.1), the road to release has officially begun.

Highlights

Base MonoGame Fixes/Improvements

  • Binary download for offline use.
  • NetStandard 2.1 support
  • iOS / Android policy update changes.
  • New Random implementation.
  • Extended GamePad support, now up to 8 controllers.
  • New HSL/HSV color conversion handling.
  • Various fixes/updates to the MonoGame Framework.
  • Improved release testing, including NuGet package testing for improved build reliability.
  • And over 100 other updates since the last release.

Useful Tip

For a more detailed list of changes see our GitHub release page: 3.8.5 Release Preview 1

3.8.5 Preview features

The 3.8.5 release also includes preview editions of two new platforms and the Content Builder solution:

  • Native Vulkan Graphics Support.
  • Native DirectX12 Graphics Support.
  • New Content Builder solution (replacing MGCB editor).
  • New StartKit templates using the Content Builder.

Binaries access only for new Platforms

The MonoGame team are working hard on the packaging for the new deliverables but they are not ready yet. The implementations are fully deployed in source and are currently only available either by cloning/referencing source or by using the binaries release detailed below.

Known issues with Preview Features

The primary reason the new features are released in a preview state is that additional testing is required with a more varied selection of projects, assets and "real world" projects. Currently, the following issues are known and require more replication to resolve fixes:

  • Occasionally you might get the following error from the new Content Builder when building from a clean directory tree using dotnet build from the command line.

      error MSB3073: The command "
  Content/bin/Debug/net9.0/Content build -p DesktopGL -s Assets -o Platforms/Desktop/bin/Debug/net9.0/ -i /Platforms/Desktop/obj/Debug/net9.0/" exited with code 255.

    The problem in this case seems to be the implicit restore is causing one or more of the content files to be locked.

    The work around for now is to run dotnet restore first.

  • Issues identified when using the new Content Builder solution on Arch Linux, which has been identified as a Wine issue.

  • MacOS builds need a fix for backwards compatibility to the cmake arguments of our native dependencies, it's an easy one, and will fix many macOS hurdles.

  • FAudio/XAudio has issues in DynamicSoundEffectInstance, which needs further testing.

  • Vulkan has single frame screen tearing in random instances. Currently not reproducible, so help is needed with projects that might encounter it.

Any assistance the wider community can provide in creating projects that identify issues for resolution is greatly appreciated.

Accessing the release

Nuget packages for the latest release preview have now been published, accessible via Visual Studio, VSCode and Rider.

Useful Tip

For instructions for accessing the Preview, check the documentation here:

Accessing the binary release

From 3.8.5 we are now also shipping a binary release that can be downloaded from the release page (Source). To use this, see the PR docs for the change while the official documents are coordinated for the full release.

elp wanted

Feel free to provide feedback / guides on common implementations for using the Binaries release in wider projects to assist with documenting the best path.

Thank you to the community for helping to make this happen

Massive thanks to our 8 new 1st time contributors. We are always grateful the community helps us make MonoGame Better.

Support

  • Financially - several tiers and options available for GitHub, PayPal and Patreon.
  • The MonoGame Store - MonoGame branded gear and merchandise.

Get Involved

  • Code, we accept Pull Requests.
  • Help in the Community discord and beyond (we also love blog posts).
  • Bounties, Fix bugs and add features faster as well as get paid for your work :)

Onwards and Upwards

The MonoGame Foundation team