In what will undoubtedly come as no shock, Zynga wants developers to join their platform. They’ve made that plenty clear in the past, but the announcement at their “Unleashed” event that they will be opening up their API to other developers sees them putting their money where their mouth is.
In what will undoubtedly come as no shock, Zynga wants developers to join their platform. They’ve made that plenty clear in the past, but the announcement at their “Unleashed” event that they will be opening up their API to other developers sees them putting their money where their mouth is.
The API will provide studios everywhere a chance to tap into the resources and infrastructure that have made Zynga games what they are, enabling them to streamline certain aspects of development. This, in turn, will likely make the costs associated with bringing games to the platform lower, a prospect that’s sure to resonate with a lot of developers currently on the fence.
One of the biggest parts of opening up the API is the usage of zCloud, the company-built infrastructure that enables their games to operate quickly and efficiently. There’s also the newly announced Active Social Network (ASN), which shows how many people are currently playing your game with one another.
This move marks a big step forward for Zynga in their quest for social dominance, but it will be a while before we see how enchanted developers are by it. Regardless, it certainly lowers the barrier to entry for all interested parties.
