Facebook is reportedly preparing to launch its own gaming app. The app is expected to act as a streaming platform for the social network, as well as a new competitor to both Twitch and YouTube.
According to several reports, Facebook’s gaming app will curate and focus on the streaming community and will initially be made available on Android devices, with an iOS version of the app to follow. Pending Apple’s approval.
Surprisingly, the dedicated gaming app won’t have any form of advertising, for now, and Facebook says that streamers will earn money in the form of “stars” sent in by viewers. The social media platform also says that its priority with the app is to build up its gaming audience first, before it looks into other ways of monetising the process.
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The Facebook Gaming app is supposed to be made available starting today, yet there is already speculation about its efficacy. For context, YouTube tried to launch its dedicated gaming app, YouTube Gaming back in 2015 but ultimately closed the curtains on it after just four years.
That said, it’s plain to see why Facebook wants a piece of gaming action once more; with more and more people staying and working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge of activity in video gaming and livestreaming of video games.
(Source: NYT, Engadget, The Verge)
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