Microsoft Corp.’s Azure cloud platform is about to get more interesting for game developers, as the company announced today that it has acquired PlayFab Inc., a startup that provides a backend platform for online games.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but PlayFab has raised at least $13 million in funding since it that startup launched in 2014.

The company, which is located less than a mile from Microsoft’s Seattle headquarters, makes it easy for developer to implement a number of features commonly used in online games, including multiplayer, friends lists, chat, in-game commerce and so on. The startup also provides analytics tools that use artificial intelligence to give developers insights into player behaviors.

PlayFab Chief Executive James Gwertzman said in a blog post today that he and Chief Technology Officer Matt Augustine founded the company to meet “a burning need” in the games industry.

“Games were rapidly shifting from packaged goods, sold in boxes, to ‘always on’ digital services, requiring sophisticated server-based infrastructure to host and operate,” said Gwertzman. “Built well, these backend systems enabled games to engage, retain, and monetize players like never before, with longevity in the top grossing charts measured in years. Built poorly, they crashed and burned on launch day.”

Gwertzman said PlayFab’s platform currently powers more than 1,200 live games for several major media brands, including Disney, NBC Universal, Wizards of the Coast, Nickelodeon and others.

Kareem Choudhry, corporate vice president of gaming at Microsoft, said in a statement that the companies aim to combine the benefits of PlayFab’s tools and Microsoft Azure.

“Many industries are moving to the intelligent cloud, and this trend is true in gaming as well,” said Choudhry. “This means an increasing number of developers are looking to create connected games for mobile, PC and console devices that have a significant emphasis on post-launch operations. However, the cost and complexity of achieving this through custom-built, server-side tools and technologies is high, and PlayFab offers developers a compelling model that scales naturally with their games’ players.”

Microsoft is likely hoping that PlayFab’s platform will make Azure more attractive to small to midsized game developers, many of which currently host their online games through rival cloud platform Amazon Web Services. Microsoft also has a major stake in the games industry itself not only with Xbox, but also with Windows, which is the most popular operating system for desktop games.

Choudhry said the PlayFab acquisition demonstrates Microsoft’s continued investment in improving Azure as a cloud platform for game developers. He also noted that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told shareholders in November that Microsoft is mobilizing to pursue its big opportunity in gaming market.”

Photo: PlayFab