Facebook Quietly Rolls Out Game Streaming

Facebook Gaming has launched multiple cloud-streaming games on the Facebook browser and app. In a blog post, Facebook explained a few details about its goals and expectations for cloud gaming. Currently, five games support cloud streaming through Facebook. The lineup includes Asphalt 9: Legends, Mobile Legends: Adventure, PGA Tour Golf Shootout, Solitaire: Arthur's Tale, and WWE SuperCard. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/16/sony-microsoft-partnering-to-improve-cloud-gaming-streaming-platforms-ign-now"] Facebook plans to roll out more games in the future, and the first addition will be Dirt Bike Unchained, which Facebook will add in the coming weeks. Starting next year, developers will have the choice to add in-app purchases in their cloud games. Facebook plans to focus on free-to-play games to begin with, since those are the experiences players are used to finding on the platform. At launch, all games will be playable with your touch screen, or a mouse and keyboard, since the service is launching with games designed for mobile. Apple users won't have access to Facebook's new gaming experiment. The company says it won't launch the service on iOS yet, saying, "While our iOS path is uncertain, one thing is clear. Apple treats games differently and continues to exert control over a very precious resource." Instead, the cloud games are launching in beta on Android devices and the web. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/apple-removes-fortnite-from-ios-app-store"] For now, the service is only launching in select parts of the United States. Access is rolling out across California, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia and West Virginia, with plans to expand access in the coming months. Facebook said it believes mainstream cloud gaming has a long way to go, so the company isn't promising major breakthroughs anytime soon. Facebook Gaming's cloud service also won't be designed to replace your current gaming hardware. Instead, the goal is to add another option to quickly jump into playing games. Facebook and Oculus recently released the Oculus Quest 2, which we called, "one of the best VR headsets you can buy today" in our Oculus Quest 2 review. However, players will want to be careful, because you will lose all your Oculus games if you delete your linked Facebook account. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=oculus-quest-2&captions=true"] Story first reported by Gamasutra. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

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