Microsoft buys the startup PlayFab, to win the online games market

The gaming industry is moving away from desktop solutions to cloud services that do not require expensive personal computers with high-end components. The computation of complex graphics and physics in games is handled by the servers of development companies. Users simply connect to the games through lightweight client applications.

Microsoft supports this trend and is serious about winning the online games market. Recently, the corporation acquired the startup PlayFab, which develops a full-featured backend platform for game developers.

The startup attracted investments of $13 million during its launch. How much Microsoft paid has not been disclosed yet.

PlayFab offers its customers a platform for the development and housing of games with a convenient infrastructure and a lot of tools for analytics and game optimization. The company's services help developers understand the needs of users and monetize the demand for games.

The startup allows developers to directly develop games and not spend a lot of time and money on setting up their server network, building infrastructure, and maintaining the entire system later on.

“Game developers must first think about how users enjoy the game”, says company director James Gwertzman. The company's mission is to provide advanced development tools for the most creative and talented developers.

The company can already boast of large customers such as Disney, NBCUniversal, Rovio, and Capcom. As of now, 1,200 games have already been launched on the PlayFab platform.

After joining Microsoft, PlayFab services will be integrated into the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. This will allow millions of gamers to play modern games from any device - including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles.