Facebook has announced today that it is entering the market of cloud gaming, by introducing the service right on its platform. That’s right, users will have the ability to play games like Asphalt 9: Legends and Mobile Legends: Adventure, directly on the main Facebook app, without ever installing them.
The best part? The service is totally free of cost, unlike competitors such as Google Stadia, Amazon Luna and Microsoft Azure Cloud Games, which charge a monthly subscription fee, much like Netflix, but for games.
The company says that it will deliver cloud computing in two ways: Full, free-to-play mobile games in a relaunched destination for Play, and Cloud playable ads so people can instantly try out a game on Facebook.
In the first option, users will be able to play complete games, i.e. you will be able to play a game in its entirety, from start to finish, on the Facebook app. This means that any progress that you make during a game session will be saved, and you can continue the game where you left it, when you log back in. This also means that any in app transactions you make while playing the game on Facebook will also be saved.
For now, six games: Asphalt 9: Legends by Gameloft; Mobile Legends: Adventure by Moonton; PGA TOUR Golf Shootout by Concrete Software, Inc.; Solitaire: Arthur’s Tale by Qublix Games; and WWE SuperCard by 2K, will be available to be played on Facebook’s app.
The service is still in beta, so the company hopes to add more games in the very near future. Moreover, it is also planning to expand this service to multiple regions throughout the world, as for now, it is only available in the US, in certain geographics.
Moreover, the company is also announcing Player Names and gaming-themed Avatars for players to represent themselves in game instead of using their full name and profile picture.
The second way in which you can play games on the app is through playable ads. The way this will work is that the platform will now support interactive demos from a game’s native code, blurring the line between games and ads. Thus, now when you see an ad on Facebook, you will be able to play it directly on the platform, instead of having to download it from Play Store.
“For developers, creation of cloud playable ads takes less time and is less expensive, and allows for more options. Multiple pieces of creative can run from a single APK. Developers can customize the experience by swapping out different levels, characters, and more. Players get a better sense of games before they commit precious money, download time, or storage space,” the company said.
