Mobile games may not be causing developer exodus from Facebook
Rumors have been circulating recently suggesting that game developers are caught in a mass exodus from Facebook. These rumors claim that these developers are fleeing exodus in favor of mobile platforms in the hopes of taking advantage of the explosive growth being seen in mobile games. Facebook, which has long been a hub for social games, claims that these rumors are unfounded and suggests that game developers are not abandoning the social media platform for better opportunities that may exist in mobile games.
Fall of Zynga sparks rumors concerning social gaming
Many of the rumors concerning the developer exodus were sparked over a year ago when Facebook’s favored game developer Zynga began to collapse. Last year, Facebook cut ties with Zynga and the developer has begun to focus more heavily on mobile games as part of its restructuring efforts. With Zynga out of the picture, Facebook’s gaming scene has begun to experience some turbulence. Facebook claims that the challenges its social games are seeing are due to market corrections being made and the often volatile nature of gaming in general.
EA moving into mobile games
Electronic Arts, one of the largest game publishers in the world, has been moving away from social games recently, adding further momentum to rumors surrounding Facebook’s social gaming space. The publisher has also adopted a strong interest in mobile games, claiming that this sector holds more promise than social gaming.
Facebook remains popular with many developers
While some developers and publishers may be moving into mobile games, Facebook has shown little concern over the supposed fall of social gaming. Developers moving into the mobile space have not been taking down their social games and these games continue to attract a great deal of activity for Facebook. The social network also continues to be the favored platform for many game developers and those looking to establish themselves in the competitive game industry
Mobile games may enter a new generation with new engine from Havok
Havok, a popular software developer in the game industry and subsidiary of the Intel Corporation, recently unveiled its new Project Anarchy game engine. The engine is designed to be a powerful development solution for small and independent teams that are interested in mobile games. Havok claims that the Project Anarchy engine will be capable of bringing high quality 3D games to mobile platforms for the first time. The company is now focusing on making the engine more flexible in order to accommodate various kinds of game developers.
Havok sets sights on flexibility
Havok believes that flexibility may be the key to success for mobile games based on the Project Anarchy engine. Many developers have begun to seek out new talent in their bids to enter into the mobile games space. Several of these developers have been putting more focus on 3D mobile games based on HTML5 engines. The C++ language has long been the standard of the game industry as a whole, but the advent of mobile games had lead to more flexibility in the programming space. Havok believes that this flexibility could be beneficial for the Project Anarchy engine.
Engine may appeal to broader range of programmers
Not only is the engine being designed to help developers focus more on high quality mobile games; it is also being designed to be more attractive to a broader range of programmers. As such, Havok believes that the engine will appeal more to the game industry as a whole rather than a particular demographic of developers that are focused on a singular programming language.
Game market continues to show strong lean toward mobile games
Havok claims to be responding to emerging trends in the gaming market. The industry has been showing signs of becoming increasingly mobile over the past few years. As such, developers are beginning to value tools designed specifically for the mobile space. The Project Anarchy engine may be able to accommodate the needs of these developers and bring a new level of quality to mobile games. As quality increases, so too do the prospects of generating more revenue through mobile gaming.
