OpenFeint co-founder Peter Relan has announced that 500 developers have signed up for his new, open source backend-as-a-service platform OpenKit.
Version 1.0 of the platform will enable iOS and Android developers to provide cloud data storage for game save states and cross-platform leaderboards.
Achievements, mutliplayer features and push notifications are all also planned for inclusion at a later date.
But unlike OpenFeint, OpenKit will not function as a user network. Instead, the platform will provide a universal authentication service for other networks such as Facebook, Game Center, Twitter and GREE.
Free as a bird
Developers will use their own data along with the OpenKit source code, but crucially, OpenKit guarantees that no developer data will be locked in.
Studios will be able to use OpenKit while hosting their own backend service, or pay OpenKit for hosting while always maintaining the option to leave with their data intact.
500 developers have signed up for the platform, and 50 of these have been selected as private beta developers. A public beta is expected to begin in February, and OpenKit is scheduled for full release in March.
Hundreds
"On 13 December, we announced the OpenKit project to solve the recurring problem in 2012 of developer furor over APIs. Hundreds of developers signed up immediately to tell us what they wanted," explained OpenKit's Peter Relan.
"Today we are unveiling the momentum of support behind OpenKit, with the goal of providing all important mobile back-end services for mobile game developers," Relan continued.
"Even iOS developers who have access to Game Center services today, recognise the importance of cross platform development for Android, and have come to us in large numbers asking for OpenKit. There is a reason: OpenKit is a single API and service across iOS and Android."
To find out more about the OpenKit platform, or register your interest in the beta testing phases, visit the OpenKit website.
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