PlayFab rolls out a big update so game developers can launch games more easily

PlayFab is launching a major update for its cloud-game services business that will make it easier for mobile and online game developers to launch their games. The idea is to offload the grunt work so developers can focus on making fun titles.

James Gwertzman, the chief executive of Seattle-based PlayFab, told GamesBeat that 900 developers have signed up. More than 100 games are in active development using the PlayFab infrastructure. Ten games are live with PlayFab already, he said. Those are pretty good numbers since PlayFab only started pitching its services and tools in August. Those tools handle the mundane but technically difficult tasks of running game servers, analyzing user behavior, and providing customer support. PlayFab does a lot of tasks that publishers once did, helping developers build, scale, operate, manage, and monetize games.