Crytek's online games platform GFACE in closed beta

Crytek's once-mysterious GFACE has resolved into a cross-platform online games platform, with social network and streaming games service.

The new service runs in a browser like Battlelog, and is currently in closed testing with no release date set; you can apply for the beta on GFACE.com.

Although it is pitched as a "high quality social media publishing service", GFACE will apparently also support "core 3D games". The first of these games will apparently be Crytek's free-to-play shooter Warface; certain mysteries of nomenclature are rapidly unraveling.

The service seems to be cross-platform, with players shown accessing it from mobiles as well as desktops, and one image even shows a game of Warface in progress on three different devices - the PC player is doing the FPS thing; an iPhone player provides air support; and the commander uses a tablet to issue orders from a top down perspective.

The social side of things includes a simple, integrated drag and drop interface supporting friends lists, invites, video chat, and entertainment media on top of the usual social network gew-gaws like status updates, activity feeds, and avatars.

The team behind GFACE seems to be part of Crytek, with inspiration for the service credited to CEO Cevat Yerli, and job openings posted in Crytek's recruiting pages. CryEngine business developer Carl Jones teased the platform in October last year when Flash was added to the engine's list of supported formats.

"We’re developing a unifying technology to create high quality social and gaming experiences on all platforms including browser, smartphones, tablets, etc," he said at the time.

Crytek has had this concept in the works for quite some time, trademarking the term as far back as April 2009.

Thanks, Kotaku.