LOS ANGELES: Facebook has planned to introduce its new gaming mobile app today as people seek entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic.
The app is designed largely for creating and watching live gameplay, a fast-growing online sector where Facebook is battling Amazon’s Twitch, Google’s YouTube and Microsoft’s Mixer services.
The app was scheduled to originally release in June but Facebook accelerated its plans as the world is being ordered to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak. The free app covers several years of investment at Facebook, which is said more than 700 million of its 2.5 billion monthly users already engaged with gaming content.
Fidji Simo, head of the Facebook app was quoted as saying, “Investing in gaming has become a priority for us because we see gaming as a form of entertainment that really connects people.” He said, “It is entertainment that is not just a form of passive consumption but entertainment that is interactive and brings people together.”
The new app includes casual games and access to gaming communities. A function called Go Live lets users upload streams of other mobile games on the same device by pressing just a few buttons.
The company tested the Facebook gaming app in Southeast Asia and Latin America over the last 18 months. It will be released on the Google Play Store for Android devices.
Facebook was a top gaming platform a decade ago during the FarmVille era, the company has not been a dominant force in recent years. In the game streaming market, Facebook is number 3 in total hours watched, behind YouTube and Twitch.
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