From SDKs that make cross-platform development more manageable, to online networks that link players with one another, a desire to serve up multiplatform gaming tools is now a red hot topic.

However, with many games now appearing on multiple marketplaces in almost identical form, the idea of players taking on the same titles across different formats is becoming prevalent.

It's the perfect time, therefore, for a company proposing to sync game saves across multiple platforms to make a splash.

Winning formula

FTW – or For the Win for those adverse to internet age acronyms – is soon to roll out an API that developers can employ in their titles to ensure game saves are carried across several versions of the same release.

Players can save their progress on one device and immediately pick up in the same place on another - a set up that will be of particular interest to smartphones owners who also now play their library of games on a tablet.

"We finally break the stranglehold consoles have on game data, and put it back in the gamers' hands," FTW says on its website.

Up in the air

Making its debut at the Launch conference in San Francisco, founder Mark Burstiner told onlookers that cloud gaming services, such as OnLive, are driving the industry forward.

In Burnister's view, mobile is no longer a segregated business, and he believes FTW – which plans to offer support for iPhone, iPad, Android and Nintendo DS – can play its own part in meeting the consumer's need for a gaming scene without barriers.

FTW is currently in private beta, though the firm is looking for studios to give it feedback. Those looking to take part should visit its website.

[source: VentureBeat]