Microsoft Acquires Cloud Gaming Backend Platform PlayFab
Microsoft is acquiring PlayFab, a cloud backend platform for games. The company announced on Monday that PlayFab, a Seattle-based company, will be joining Microsoft to help expand Azure’s gaming services.
PlayFab offers game developers with a cloud backend for their games to help kickstart game development. The service provides game developers with mission-critical tools such as analytics, real-time data management, commerce systems, leaderboards, and much more. PlayFab enables developers to work on the actual game while taking care of the backend side of things that can be quite complex to set up, especially for new and indie developers trying to get into the market.
“Microsoft, with its deep expertise in gaming and cloud computing, is a perfect home for PlayFab as we expand our platform and features. Our customers are worldwide, and Microsoft’s global presence and world-class Microsoft Azure server infrastructure complement PlayFab’s services, making it even easier for studios to focus on building great games instead of back end technology,” PlayFab’s CEO James Gwertzman wrote in a blog post, announcing the acquisition.
The addition of PlayFab will allow Microsoft to expand its Azure gaming offerings by providing developers with a set of tools that will come in incredibly handy when scaling their games. Not only will it help Azure, but PlayFab will also help new developers trying to make games for the Xbox One and the Universal Windows Platform.