OpenFeint game plug-in shutting down in December, forcing more than 1,000 apps to migrate to GREE

OpenFeint, the software development tool that allowed mobile game creators to incorporate leaderboards and achievements into their Android and Apple iOS games, will cease operation next month. The platform will be discontinued in favor of GREE, a similar system created by the Japanese company that acquired OpenFeint in April of last year. OpenFeint servers will shutdown on December 14, 2012, though GREE has sent mixed signals, saying, "Although the actual date may be later, developers should be prepared for a December 14th shutdown."

The migration to GREE will create problems for games that fail to update to the GREE Platform SDK or remove OpenFeint integration. Network calls will be nonfunctional beginning December 14, so apps may crash or fail to operate normally as a result. GREE has a tool to migrate leaderboards and achievements to its platform, but it does not yet have support for the Apple iPad. Tablet games that rely on OpenFeint will lose all social features and achievements until an iPad-optimized SDK is released.

There are more than 1,000 games that currently use OpenFeint, including popular titles like Guerilla Bob, Fruit Ninja, and Riptide. A guide and FAQ are available to help developers migrate their social game data to the new platform by next month.