As part of its acquisition by Japanese social mobile gaming platform GREE in a $104 million deal, OpenFeint CEO Jason Citron has published an open letter to OpenFeint's community.

"While this is certainly a proud moment for our young startup, it is really a high five to you guys, our game developer community," he says.

"As of this moment, 5,393 games, that you built, form the backbone of this network - bringing millions of gamers together every day."

Scream if you wanna

Citron goes onto say that it's going to be business as usual but faster at OpenFeint.

"Simply put, we are stepping on the gas pedal. The entire OpenFeint team is staying on and will continue building the platform that we launched together two years ago," he reveals.

"With GREE's expertise and financial backing, you'll quickly see the benefits of this collaboration. Expect to see faster SDK updates, awesome new products, and network improvements.

"We'll build more global distribution channels like we have done in China with The9 - opening new markets for your games. We're passionately focused on creating a better social gaming experience for your players."

The first billion

Of course, the point of the deal is that together, the companies will expand very quickly - although unlike DeNA and ngmoco there are no plans to integrate OpenFeint and GREE's technology.

"We share a common vision with GREE - to make the world a happier place through gaming experiences. It may sound idealistic, but it's true. Your games connect families and friends and even strangers - giving millions of people reasons to smile and laugh with each other," Citron ends.

"In two short years we've connected 100 million people. In the next 3 years, with your help, we intend to connect 1 billion."

[source: OpenFeint]