In April of 2020, Facebook Gaming officially launched as the company’s mobile platform that allowed users to watch their favourite players live stream games.
Given that we have heard very little of the platform over the past two years, it is not all that surprising to see that Facebook Gaming will soon shutter its doors.
Those who make use of the app will now be greeted with a banner detailing the upcoming closure, which is scheduled to take place next month on 28th October for both the iOS and Android version of the platform.
A screenshot of the banner can be seen below, as shared by social media consultant Matt Navarra via Twitter earlier this week.
While the mobile app is shutting down, it remains to be seen if it will be replaced with a richer and further reaching Meta-branded option down the line, with the parent company still noting that this is an audience it wishes to tap into.
“Despite this news, our mission to connect players, fans and creators with the games they love hasn’t changed, and you’ll still be able to find your games, streamers and groups when you visit Gaming in the Facebook app,” reads the aforementioned banner.
“We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything that you’ve done to build a thriving community for gamers and fans since this app first launched,” it adds.
Facebook is killing its Facebook Gaming app on 28 October 2022 pic.twitter.com/AeQjnSBkWV
— Matt Navarra – Exiting X… Follow me on Threads (@MattNavarra) August 30, 2022
“The standalone Facebook Gaming app has been an incredible environment for our gaming team to test and iterate on a wide variety of gaming-specific features and products, and many of these features have found a home in the main Facebook App,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch in a statement.
“We’ll continue to support our gaming communities, developers, and creators on the main Facebook app where hundreds of millions of people play games, watch gaming video, and connect in gaming Groups each month,” they added.
Whether this is simply a few nice passing phrases as Facebook Gaming is decommissioned is unclear, but big tech companies obsession with attracting the attention of gaming and its larger community will likely never die.
It will therefore be interesting to see what will rise from the ashes of Facebook Gaming, especially as Twitch and the like are already the platforms to venture to when seeking live streamed gaming content.
[Photo by Pete Pedroza on Unsplash]
