Dropbox API to sync game states

Dropbox has unveiled a new API that will help mobile game developers store and sync game states across multiple devices and platforms.

Dropbox is already a great tool for developers working remotely who want to share files and folders with colleagues.

The new Datastore API announced at DBX, the company’s first developer conference, will extend that power to mobile apps.

“Our Sync and Core APIs already take care of syncing files and folders, but as people use mobile apps more and more, a lot of their stuff doesn’t really look like a file at all,” says an entry on the Dropbox Blog.

“It could be anything — settings, contacts, to-do list items, or the latest doodle you drew.”

This means developers can now use Dropbox to keep game states in sync across multiple mobile devices.

This ability in increasingly a must-have for apps, as users want to be able to put down their phone, pick up a tablet, and start playing the same game right where they left off.

“When you use an app built with datastores your data will be up-to-date across all devices whether you’re online or offline,” says the blog post.

“Imagine a task-tracking app that works on both your iPhone and the web. If it’s built with the Datastore API, you can check off items from your phone during a cross-country flight and add new tasks from your computer and Dropbox will make sure the changes don’t clobber each other.”

Interested developers can find more information on the Datastore API here.