Facebook Gaming has acquired Unit 2 Games, the UK developer behind collaborative game development and publishing platform Crayta, for an undisclosed fee.
Crayta is a Roblox-esque platform that allows users to create and publish games without the need for coding or other specialized skills. According to Unit 2 Games chief exec Richard Smithies, Crayta was designed to help "democratize game creation and consumption for the mass market."
The platform had initially launched exclusively on Stadia in 2020, but Crayta's toolset will now be integrated into Facebook Gaming's cloud platform to instantly deliver new experiences on Facebook.
Facebook Gaming VP Vivek Sharma explained the company purchased Unit 2 Games and Crayta so it can "expand the notion of a Facebook creator to include people who collaboratively build, publish, and share games."
"We can now make content creation easier than ever by bringing our team together with Unit 2 Games’ team and technology. In the future, people on Facebook will create experiences in a matter of minutes without the need to code, while more advanced creators can make content limited only by their imagination," continued Sharma.
"We’ve always maintained that our role in the industry is to help build gaming communities and support the many ways people come together around games. Our next phase of growth will come from bringing the activities of playing, watching and connecting closer together."
In a separate press release, Unit 2 Games chief exec Richard Smithies said the development team will remain unchanged post-acquisition.
"For you, our players and creators, this change will only serve to make your experience in Crayta better and better over the coming years," said Smithies, before adding that the company couldn't pass up the chance to grow the platform with the help of Facebook.
"Our creators will begin to see more players in their games and more opportunities to learn from and collaborate with others, while our players will have even more games to play and enjoy, and more people to play with."