After the DirectX 9.0c there are no further versions expected to be released for Windows Xp based OS because Microsoft is concentrating on DirectX 10 which is only compatible with Windows Vista. The question that pops in your mind is will I be able to install DirectX 10 in my XP based operating system?

To resolve your confusion, Cody Brocious of Falling Leaf systems has started a project called Alky which was mainly based on enabling the compatibility of playing Direct X 10 based games in your current operating platform. They have extracted a set of library files from the DirectX 10 and thus make it available for download and usable in Windows XP and other operating systems.

Not everyone can afford Windows Vista and will be upgrading just to compromise for gaming. So the main catch about this project is they developed a set of libraries that will allow the use of DirectX 10 games on platforms other than Windows Vista, which when used in Vista increases the hardware compatibility.

The libraries act as a proxy to all Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) accessed by an application. This enables us to redirect API requests to existing platform functionality or custom implementations as needed. The libraries also allow us to integrate application-specific logic enabling users to explicitly define application behavior

– Falling Leaf Systems

Will Microsoft encourage their development? Absolutely not because, if we have the compatibility of installing directX 10 on Windows Xp then it will affect the market of Vista. Note: Please download the patch at your own risk.

Links: Download DirectX 10 | Falling Leaf Systems.