Microsoft announced today that they have acquired the cloud-based gaming platform PlayFab. Although the exact terms regarding acquisition have not been revealed, Microsoft vice president Kareem Choudhry has noted that the company is now within the Microsoft family.
Choudhry stated in a Microsoft blogpost that the acquisition extends the work and investments that Microsoft has conducted with Microsoft Azure with the intent of providing dynamic cloud platform for the gaming industry. Azure is a cloud-based computing platform that uses physical data centers to support the 42 regions around the world they operate within. This platform is utilized by gaming companies due to the scalability and power offered. Titanfall was one of various games that adopted Microsoft Azure as the primary power technology.
PlayFab began as a Seattle-based startup that initially aimed to primarily appeal towards indie developers, but boasted to larger companies quickly. The platform offered game developers the opportunity to operate and host online games with analytic tools that aided in understanding monetization. The platform also largely cut down on the work needed to launch a game that could smoothly handle a sizeable global player base. PlayFab previously aided in powering more than 1,200 live games for clients which included Capcom, Wizards of the Coast, Rovio, NBCUniversal, and Disney. Their services extended to mobile games as well, with games such as Loadout, Killing Floor 2, and Planetary Annihilation.
Microsoft aims to help developers manage their games through the merging of these two platforms by providing knowledge of server capacity and analytics. Through PlayFab’s software, Microsoft will further the Azure cloud-computing capabilities, and move towards a simplistic, user-friendly final platform.