Microsoft buys gaming startup PlayFab to boost its Azure platform

Microsoft has acquired gaming start-up PlayFab for an undisclosed sum and will integrate its services into Azure platform to help developers build better games.

PlayFab powers more than 1,200 live games and has served over 700 million players.

"Together, Azure and PlayFab will further unlock the power of the intelligent cloud for the gaming industry, enabling game developers and delighting gamers around the world," Kareem Choudhry, Corporate Vice President of gaming at Microsoft, said in a blog post.

PlayFab technology is being used by entertainment companies like Disney, NBC Universal, Wizards of the Coast, Nickelodeon, Bandai Namco, Rovio and Capcom.

"Our platform of scalable game services, game analytics, and LiveOps tools are helping more than 3,000 studios progress from shipping static software to creating games that scale gracefully and evolve over time with new content, live events, and frequent updates," PlayFab CEO James Gwertzman said in a post.

PlayFab claims to process more than 1.5 billion transactions a day, nearly 20,000 transactions a second.

"Microsoft, with its deep expertise in gaming and cloud computing, is a perfect home for PlayFab as we expand our platform and features," Athe company said.

"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," it added.