Facebook buys Spanish cloud gaming company PlayGiga

Facebook is expanding its gaming efforts and has acquired PlayGiga, a startup that ran a cloud gaming service in Europe and some parts of the Middle East. The social network has confirmed the acquisition to Engadget after a report about the deal was published by business publication Cinco Días. While the tech giant didn't elaborate on the terms of the acquisition, Cinco Días reported that the deal cost Facebook 70 million Euros (US$78 million).

Facebook Gaming posted on Twitter:

In addition, PlayGiga also posted a statement on its website that drops a hint about the social network's purpose for the acquisition. "We are continuing our work in cloud gaming, now with a new mission," it reads. It could mean that the corporation is working on a cloud gaming service, and that PlayGiga will be part of that endeavor.

If true, then Facebook may take what learned from Instant Games and apply it to the new service. Instant Games, which launched in 2016, gives users access to games across devices with no downloads required. It only offers HTML5 titles, though -- a proper cloud gaming service will allow Facebook to offer a wider variety and more high-quality games.