Introduction to Intelligent Delivery
Learn about Microsoft's Intelligent Delivery concepts and how to use them in the Microsoft GDK Intelligent Delivery package.
The Microsoft GDK Intelligent Delivery package provides a simplified way to define and manage your Microsoft Store package layout. It minimizes or eliminates the need to manually construct an XML mapping file.
Microsoft's Intelligent Delivery organizes your content into three components: chunk, feature, and recipe. The following section describes each component and its implementation in Microsoft GDK Intelligent Delivery package.
Chunk
Microsoft defines a chunk as a discrete grouping of assets that you can deliver selectively to users. In the package, chunks are Addressable groups with the Intelligent Delivery schema applied. This schema contains specific settings that are required to designate these groups as individual delivery chunks. An Addressable group becomes fully mapped once you apply the Intelligent Delivery schema. Addressable groups without the schema remain unmapped.
Feature
A feature is a collection of chunks associated with a feature tag, representing a logical grouping of application assets that users can individually add or remove. Features enable modular installation, allowing users to choose which application components to install on their device, saving storage space and download time. For example, users can independently install bonus content, additional campaigns, multiplayer levels, or high-resolution content.
Recipe
A recipe is a collection of features installed as part of a specific Microsoft Store product variant, such as a base game installation that is always available or premium edition content. You can define multiple recipes and link them to one or more Store IDs. At least one recipe must exist without associated entitlements so users can always install the base product.