Facebook enters the cloud gaming market
28 October, 2020
Social media company Facebook is entering the burgeoning cloud gaming market currently dominated by famous brands Microsoft, Google, Nvidia and Intel.
Users can play games directly in the Facebook mobile application and on its browser, without downloading any new software because they would on iPhone app stores such as for example Android’s Google Play and Apple’s App Store, the business said.
“We have launched several cloud-streamed games in the Facebook application and on browser … playable instantly, without downloads required,” Jason Rubin, vice president of play at Facebook, said.
“We recently had 200,000 persons playing our cloud-streamed games weekly in limited regions. Cloud game-streaming promises to deliver unprecedented access to games across every screen … we are thrilled to play a role in that future,” he added.
Cloud games are run on remote servers and streamed right to a user’s device.
Facebook isn't spinning off another cloud gaming service and can make all cloud-streamed games playable just as that users currently play games on its portal, either in its gaming tab or from its news feed, the California-based company said in a blog.
The cloud gaming market is booming and is predicted to create $585 million in earnings by the end of the year, up from $170m this past year, according to a written report last month by general market trends company Newzoo. Revenue will reach $4.8 billion by 2023, the report said.
Users won't need any external gear, hardware or controllers to play cloud-streamed games on Facebook.
“Your hands will be the controllers since we are launching with native mobile games ... and you may play these games with a mouse and keyboard on desktop,” said Mr Rubin, adding that a lot more than 380 million persons currently play games every month on Facebook.
Consumer appetite for cloud gaming rose rapidly in 2020 with the creation of new platforms such as for example Apple's Arcade and Google's Stadia. Movement restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic also propelled users’ interest, industry professionals said.
“Much like almost every other facet of our lives, Covid-19 had and is still having a profound effect on cloud gaming … there's been a reignited passion for gaming of these trying times,” Guilherme Fernandes, market consultant at Amsterdam-based Newzoo, said.
Cloud gaming permits a high-fidelity game experience without expensive hardware, he added.
Publishers and developers working with Facebook on cloud gaming include 2K, FunPlus, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Gram Games, Rovio, and Wildlife Studios.
Initially, this service has been offered in different elements of the US but the social media giant is planning on a wider roll out to other countries next year.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
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