DeNA and Japanese social network Mixi have announced a partnership that will see Mobage and Mixi Games share a single game development platform.

Starting in January 2013, developers will be able to release their titles across both Mobage and the smartphone version of Mixi Games – without the need for any significant re-coding.

Mixi's revamped games service won't be available until Spring 2013, however, when it will launch alongside "an increased number of captivating social games."

Pretty, pretty good

Following the announcement, Tokyo-based social gaming consultant Dr Serkan Toto took to his blog to explain that this deal represents "a pretty smart move for both companies."

Firstly, the two firms have a history of collaboration. Mobage users can already 'like' items using the Mixi 'like button', and the duo partnered also to launch online social shopping destination Mixi Mall in Q1 2012.

More importantly, though, this deal unlocks opportunities for both companies. For DeNA, the partnership provides access to Mixi's smartphone userbase – a socially connected audience of more than 8 million monthly active users to target with its stable of social games.

For Mixi, the deal represents an opportunity to revive its gaming platform – which, according to Toto, "never took off."

While the two services will share a game development platform, DeNA's announcement is keen to stress that "the mixi and Mobage social graphs will remain separate."

[source: DeNA]