Citing East-West Digital News, Venturebeat reported that social networking company Facebook had been actively pursuing to obtain much-needed resources with around 70 to 80 partners in Russia. The tech news site noted that this was a major change in the technology industry in the European region considering that Facebook does not have any interests in Russia a year ago.
According to Facebook EMEA (Emerging Markets in Europe and Asia) head of partnerships Julien Codorniou said during an exchange with RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency, that several top managers of the social network have paid visits to Russia and had meetings with domestic developers after founder Mark Zuckerberg visited Moscow last year. Zuckerberg made a trip to the center of Russia to woo Russian programmers to join the company in California.
In April, Codorniou provided an update with Facebook's partnerships in the Russian region and said "(Facebook had already augmented its base of mobile game developers) by a hearty 17 times over the past six months, (working with more than 50 Russian partners and spending) more time with app developers in Russia than in any other country."
Last week, Codorniou said, "(Facebook) is now watching a new generation of non-game and mobile developers (come to augment its existing partner base.) As we're entering a holiday season, we're seeing an increase in tourist-focused apps and e-commerce software." Codorniou cited an example in Russian company Empatika, which had offered its App in the Air application.
The Facebook executive underscored the company's guiding principle, which is to develop apps via a cross-platform approach.
"People seek cross-platform experience; for example, the successful Candy Crush Saga game [developed byKing] is available in both web and mobile versions. That's not limited to games; the Spotify and Deezer music services are used in the same manner," Codorniou explained.
Codorniou refused to provide an actual figure on Russian apps the company had shelled out. VentureBeat's report, however, said Facebook spent roughly USD2 billion for new games worldwide.
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