Facebook is looking to challenge Twitch and YouTube when it comes to video game streams and the gaming community. The company is planning on launching its own dedicated mobile “Facebook Gaming app” that will focus on streaming and highlight casual games by inviting users to play popular titles like Words with Friends.
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According to the New York Times, the App will be released as soon as today and will be available for Android devices first. iOS users will have to wait for the app’s approval from Apple before it lands on the App Store.
We do know that the Facebook Gaming app will try to merge the-more-than 2.5 billion monthly users on the platform with video games. According to the report, Facebook sees more than 700 million users already engaged in gaming content and the app is designed largely for creating and watching live gameplay.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”Fidji Simo, head of the Facebook app”link=”” color=”#7806ED” class=”” size=”21″]“Investing in gaming, in general, has become a priority for us because we see gaming as a form of entertainment that really connects people. It’s entertainment that’s not just a form of passive consumption but entertainment that is interactive and brings people together.” [/perfectpullquote]
The company has already tested the Facebook Gaming app in Southeast Asia and Latin America over the last 18 months and it has seen major success. The Facebook Gaming app will incorporate casual games as well as access to gaming communities. However, the success of the app relies on users watching live game streams hosted on the platform.
The Facebook App will also feature a function called “Go Live” where users can upload streams of other mobile games on the same device by pressing a few buttons. Those streams can then be shared on someone’s personal Facebook page making it easy for anyone to become an amateur video game streamer. [perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#7AED06″ class=”” size=”21″]The app will also feature its own currency in the form of “Stars”[/perfectpullquote]
This Facebook App will attempt to make it easier for people to stream mobile games to the platform. Twitch currently relies on users installing complicated third-part software and accessories in order to stream mobile games to the platform.
The app will also feature its own currency in the form of “Stars”. Viewers can send Stars to streamers which represent taking a commission, effectively making a donation. The Facebook Gaming app will have no adverts at launch as the company will building its gaming audience before adding new ways to make money.
The whole plan sounds pretty great if you ask us. We stream on Facebook and this would allow us to reach more people and share experiences with gamers on the platform. We just hope that unlike the original Facebook experience, this gaming app has dark mode :P.
