'Godfather' social game bypasses Facebook

It takes a lot of guts for a social game to turn its back on Facebook, but you probably would expect nothing less of a game based on the Godfather franchise.

The Godfather: Five Families has decided to bypass the largest social networking site and launch exclusively on Google+.

"As Michael Corleone said, 'It’s not personal... It’s strictly business,'" Kabam VP of marketing Ted Simon told Gamasutra. "As we were evaluating our options, Google+ games came to us and put together the most compelling marketing and merchandising package to support the expansion of The Godfather: Five Families and help drive traffic to their platform."

The game, developed by Kabam and backed by Paramount, acts as a prequel to the book and films. Set 10 years before the first film, the game will let players be a part of the rise to power of the Corleones, Straccis, Cuneos, Barzinis and Tattaglias.

The game isn't likely to stay off of Facebook forever, though. Google+ only has a 45 day window of exclusivity, at which time the studio can bring the game to other sites.