Microsoft acquires cross-platform tools firm Xamarin

Microsoft has acquired Xamarin, a company that creates tools to help devs build apps for multiple platforms.

The two firms has worked together for several years, integrating Xamarin’s technology into Visual Studio in order to enable developers to build mobile apps using C# and then deploy natively to Windows, iOS, Android and other major devices.

The acquisition is the culmination of a long-running partnership between the two companies that have seen Microsoft also create Xamarin integrations for Azure, Office 365 and the Enterprise Mobility Suite.

Xamarin is already used by games developers such as SuperGiant Games and Gummy Drop, as well as leading businesses such as Alaska Airlines and Coca-Cola Bottling.

The deal forms part of Microsoft’s ongoing push behind its Universal apps – software that runs across all of its platforms, including Windows 10 and Xbox One.

“With today’s acquisition announcement we will be taking this work much further to make our world class developer tools and services even better with deeper integration and seamless mobile app dev experiences,” Microsoft’s Scott Guthrie wrote on the firm’s blog. 

“The combination of Xamarin, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Team Services, and Azure provides a complete mobile app dev solution that provides everything you need to develop, test, deliver and instrument mobile apps for every device. We are really excited to see what developers build with it.”