Diamond Dash-maker Wooga raises $24M, signs to Appatyze with RockYou

Wooga Diamond Dash
Wooga and RockYou must be on Cloud Nine right now, having Entourage-style parties on New York rooftops. (At least I would after this news.) The two biggest up-and-coming social game developers, RockYou and Wooga, have signed onto Appatyze, the social games advertisement auction service and cross-application bar invested in by our friend Ian Livingstone. Not to mention that Berlin-based Wooga has reported that it has raised $24 million in capital funding from investors like Highland Capital Partners, Tenaya Capital and more.

Appatyze allows developers to sign up for free (for now), install the cross-application bar into their Facebook game, and promote their own game across colleague's Appatyze bar and vise versa. However, developers sell the ad space above their game to the highest bidder, which creates an open market for trading ad space and increasing value. The advertising dollars exist within the network and grow there, in theory.

As of this writing, Appatyze is allowing all beta testers to receive 100 percent revenue from ad sales, which when the service goes live it will charge an Apple App Store-like fee of 20 percent of all revenue. It's a strategic move by both Wooga, which was recently ranked the fourth-largest social game developer, and RockYou, which signed two Loot Drop games courtesy of John Romero. We'll see soon enough whether Appatyze leads to more money generated in social games outside of the almighty Zynga, and hopefully bring more variety into the space.

[Image Credit: Wooga]

Do you Appatyze is an answer to game discovery and profitability woes on Facebook? Could this be what allows small-time social game developers the financial clout to compete with Zynga?

RockYou seeking skilled recruits ... to play Galactic Allies [Video]

Look, RockYou knows that you're not an architect by trade, and you're certainly no cook. So, why not stop pretending to do things real people do and pretend to be something completely fictional, like a galactic fleet commander? With developer 3 Blokes, the Facebook game publisher recently released Galactic Allies to Facebook, the studio's second strategy game.

The game enlists players as commanders of their very own fleet of star ships in a battle to protect their end of the galaxy from alien enemies. In a more casual approach to the growing sub genre of hardcore strategy games on Facebook, Galactic Allies lets players directly control their space-faring units to avoid enemy fire in real-time combat. (Of course, battles are exchanged between players asynchronously.)

While it's not marketed as such, the game looks a lot like the spiritual successor to 3 Blokes's first game on Facebook, Galactic Trader. But this time around, the developer has resources from a major publisher, which can only mean one thing: a goofy trailer displaying almost everything the game has to offer in a 60-second nutshell.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
Also, the game wasn't exactly live when we first revealed it to you, so check out the fun trailer down there. And when you're done with that, click on the link below to hop into Galactic Allies. That is, if you think you can answer the call--come on, even the narrator wants in.


Click here to play Galactic Allies on Facebook Now >

Have you tried Galactic Allies on Facebook yet? What do you think of where hardcore strategy games on Facebook are at right now? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment

3 Blokes launches strategic assault on Facebook with Galactic Allies

Galactic Allies on Facebook
We can almost hear the 3 Blokes team in Australia screaming "Fire everything!" as they hit the proverbial "Launch" button on its first Facebook game under publisher RockYou, Galactic Allies. (It would be most appropriate, no?) Real-time strategy fans can jump in on the thrill of space-faring, asynchronous player vs player combat, complete with 3D visuals.

Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)

Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.

Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >

Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment