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Facebook leak reveals Project Spartan snaps as platform gears up for big reveal

But will it launch at Apple's iPhone 5 showcase?

Facebook leak reveals Project Spartan snaps as platform gears up for big reveal
The hype around Facebook's Project Spartan is focused not on whether the HTML5 powered gaming platform will be announced, but rather just when.

Indeed, its very existence - already confirmed by sources outside of Facebook countless times over - has again been cemented by the leak of a series of pictures showcasing the platform.

What makes this particular leak interesting, however, is that it came from Facebook itself.

Developer focused

Said images, which purport to show Spartan in action in a forthcoming version of the Facebook app for iPhone, were initially published on the Facebook Developers blog.

Naturally, they were then taken down in quick time, but not before TechCrunch managed to take a few snaps.



Interestingly, however, the attached copy describes the platform as being available for both iOS and Android - despite the fact increasing speculation suggests Spartan's unveiling will likely come at Apple's iPhone 5 event.

Failure to launch

Either way, features revealed in the shots are particularly developer orientated, including updates to app bookmarking features, friend notification flow and app search mechanics.

The official launch of Spartan - previously expected to roll out in July - was reportedly dropped from the F8 conference, presumably to prevent it from stealing attention from the new timeline based services that were unveiled.

Rumoured to have been developed with Apple's assistance, TechCrunch now claims the platform will be officially revealed early next week.

 

[source: TechCrunch]

When Matt was 7 years old he didn't write to Santa like the other little boys and girls. He wrote to Mario. When the rotund plumber replied, Matt's dedication to a life of gaming was established. Like an otaku David Carradine, he wandered the planet until becoming a writer at Pocket Gamer.