Facebook has announced the addition of some major gaming titles to its new cloud-streamed game offering, available for free via the Facebook app on Android and in-browser.
The gaming feature has already amassed 200,000 players since its soft-launch in limited regions. Its newest titles include 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 Games.
It said it will also add Dirt Bike Unchained by Red Bull to the service, which takes advantage of similar cloud-gaming technology offered by the likes of Google Stadia.
Facebook has long offered in-app gaming but unlike its existing HTML5-based offerings which rely on a user’s own hardware, these new high-end titles are processed by Facebook’s servers.
Access to cloud games on Facebook is for now limited to the US as it begins to test the service. It said that as the service grows, playable ads will also be introduced, allowing Facebook users to instantly try a game before buying.
Beta partners for cloud playable ads include major gaming studios such as 2K, FunPlus, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Gram Games, Rovio, and Wildlife Studios.
Jason Rubin, VP of Play at Facebook clarified that the introduction of the service does not signal a new spin-out is in the works for the tech giant.
“We’re not spinning off a separate cloud gaming service,” he wrote in an announcement.
“All cloud-streamed games are playable in the same way you play games now on Facebook — whether it’s in our Gaming tab or from News Feed
More than 380 million people play games each month on Facebook, and people will play cloud-streamed games right alongside those playing instant games in HTML5. And if we do our jobs right, you won’t notice how the games are delivered.”
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