VoIP Firm Skype Prepares Game Channel 2

Representatives from Internet telephony company Skype have announced that the firm is to introduce a new Game Channel on its service aimed at casual gamers, to be developed by external Norwegian company Easybits, and already offering a free SDK and technical support. Skype director Paul Amery announced a new game developer program for the channel during his keynote speech at the Communications Developer Conference yesterday. The program is aimed at attracting third party casual game developers into taking advantage of the almost 200 million registered Skype users. Free SDK tools are already available, with the company offering technical support for converting games to use Skype’s GameXN framework. All distribution, DRM and e-commerce issues are handled automatically by the free software. The company claims that there have been more than 18 million downloads of Skype Extras, needed to access advanced content such as games, since its launch last December. From that number users have downloaded around five million games. Skype previously opened its APIs to external software, including games, in August 2005. “Skype users are doing more than just placing voice calls and we are constantly looking for new ways to enhance their overall internet communications experience,” said Amery. “People are increasingly using Skype to interact with one another, with many choosing to play simple games like checkers or backgammon. However, the tremendous number of Skype’s users makes it an ideal environment for multi-player and community-based games in which people can play against or collaborate with one another.” Further information on the Skype developer program can be found at the Easybits Game Channel website.