Facebook is Launching Its Gaming App to Rival Twitch & YouTube

Facebook is also introducing a feature called Go Live for streamers and gaming community

Facebook’s gaming app will be available in Android first.

(Photo: The Quint)

Game streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch don’t have much competition, but that’s about to change as Facebook has decided to launch a gaming app of its own.

According to a New York Times report, the app will be dedicated to focusing on the streaming community although it may also highlight some of the casual games that people are playing already.

The app will be initially made available for Android users and later will be rolled out for iOS if Apple, which is currently promoting its own gaming streaming platform Arcade, gives approval.

Facebook gaming  has been growing for the past couple of years.(Photo: Facebook) 

The Facebook Gaming app will also introduce a new Go Live feature, which will let users upload streams of other mobile games on the same device by pressing just a few buttons.

Once the gamers are live, the streams will appear on their personal pages, which will make it easier for followers to watch. Facebook also offers monetisation to some of its streamers.

“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,” Fidji Simo, Head of the Facebook Gaming app, was quoted as saying.

There will not be any ads in the beginning on the Facebook Gaming app. The company was originally scheduled to launch the app in June but seeing this is an opportune moment as people are spending their time at home the app might gain popularity faster.

According to the report, Facebook is currently relying on "stars" ratings from viewers, like "bits" in Twitch. The social media platform has been testing versions of the app in Latin America and Southeast Asia for the past 18 months.

Despite having a user base of 2.5 billion users and more joining it’s surprising it lags behind its competitors in the game streaming business. That said, Facebook Gaming is growing.

According to a report by streaming software company StreamElements, Facebook Gaming saw an impressive 210 percent growth in hours watched between December 2018 to December 2019. It also says that it saw a 6 percent increase in the number of streamers and a 78 percent increase in average viewers per hour.

— with inputs from IANS