Facebook has acquired Madrid based cloud gaming startup PlayGiga, making it a part of the ever-growing Facebook ecosystem. The deal was confirmed by CNBC today, a week after Cinco Dias reported Facebook’s interest in buying out PlayGiga. While the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, experts speculate that it costed Facebook around 70 million euros($78 million).
For the confirmation of users, Facebook Gaming tweeted: “We’re thrilled to welcome @PlayGigaOficial to the Facebook Gaming team. We’ll decline further comment for now.”
PlayGiga also dropped hints about the acquisition, tweeting,””We are continuing our work in cloud gaming, now with a new mission”.
Founded in 2013 in Madrid, PlayGiga has been striving to create streaming game technology for 5G, enabling tech companies to reach more mobile gamers with the help of telcos. The company also introduced gaming as a service platform that will enable telcos and communication service providers to offer streaming games to their customers.
Facebook is trying to expand it’s gaming business to look for other revenue generators as online advertising revenues have started to show signs of plateauing. Part of the initiative is expanding its gaming business. According to Facebook, its gaming platform is already 700 million users strong, achieved largely by leveraging its multi-billion strong social media userbase.
- Facebook announced last month about agreeing to buy out Beat Games, developer of popular virtual reality title Beat Saber.
- Earlier this year, Facebook added it’s Gaming Hub in the main navigation app, in contrast to a standalone app. Said Hub includes live streaming platforms to compete with companies like Twitch.
- In 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion. The company began selling Oculus Quest and Rift headsets this year.
- Facebook has launched its own VR universe, Facebook Horizon.
