Table Of Content
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facebook.com/gaming/
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What is Facebook Gaming?
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Why should you opt for Facebook Gaming?
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Ever-growing streaming market
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Level Up Program for Creators
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Attracting key streamers
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Quality Selection Process - Partnership
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Design
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Content
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Wide-range of genres
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On-demand Content
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Call for Exclusive titles in the future?
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Desktop/Mobile experience
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Plans & Pricing
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Suggestions I have for Facebook Gaming
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Conclusion
facebook.com/gaming/
Gaming is an $120 billion industry and a large chunk of that slice belongs to live video streaming services. While Twitch pioneers the idea of game-streaming, the YouTube Gaming network, along with Facebook Gaming and Microsoft Mixer have emerged as strong competitors.
Facebook gaming became the latest game streaming platform to enter the fray in January 2018. The largest social media network is already making waves in the streaming ocean, and is attracting a large chunk of audience. Facebook's growth has been instrumental and it has been the fastest growing platform in regard to video game streaming.
What is Facebook Gaming?
Facebook Gaming is an online streaming network for gamers and viewers who want to share the joy and fun of gaming. On Facebook Gaming, viewers watch and root for top streamers playing the most popular gaming titles. You can join groups and engage with the community in more than one way. You can use the Facebook Gaming app or access the stream from your device.
The watch section has new videos from some of the biggest streamers and publishers. Here you can watch live videos, and access content that's been pre-loaded by the publishers.
If you want to become an active member of the community, you can play games. You don't have to download any game, just open an app and start playing.
You can become a part of any gaming group on Facebook that you feel comfortable with, and contribute to the common good.
Why should you opt for Facebook Gaming?
Twitch has a large share in the game streaming market, but Facebook has been growing more quickly in recent years. In 2019, Facebook's share was 3.1%, and it steadily rose to 8.5% within a year - the highest in the game streaming industry. Its 210% increase in viewership means that it attracts a million users with 100+ million hours of content watched.
Ever-growing streaming market
The gaming industry doesn't just involve people buying games and playing them - there's a large chunk of audience obsessed with watching other creators play. Not only do these people watch, but they also pay and support their favorite creators.
Level Up Program for Creators
Facebook is launching a program called "Facebook Stars." Creators who meet the basic criteria can make more money by selling ads, merchandising, and other ways. The program is now referred to as "Facebook Stars." To be accepted into the program, you must have at least 100 followers and have streamed for four hours in the past two weeks. This is not a difficult target as even new creators can use groups on Facebook to attract audiences.
Attracting key streamers
Facebook seems to be doing well with its gaming partnerships, signing up well-known streamers such as MelonieMac, MissesMae, StoneMountain64, and Darkness429. The majority of Facebook's gaming community consists of younger audiences, mainly due to gaming and lip-syncing tools.
Quality Selection Process - Partnership
Apart from the Level up program, Facebook puts a stamp on creators who are good at streaming and fit their community's needs. There is a long queue of creators wanting to get in the program. Thus, the selection is not that easy. And one reason why it is so diligent is that the program provides access to stars and subscription features. Partnering is intense and each of the partners mentioned above was handpicked.
Design
Facebook's platform is quite similar to YouTube as it is based on a similar infrastructure. For example, both these networks are based on the parent platform. Thus, in design-sense, there is nothing unique that stands out as you're already familiar with the user interface. As soon as you visit the page, you'll have a vertical dashboard on the left and streaming windows on the right. On the left there are four key options - Home, Browse Games, Browse Streamers and Clips, and on the right, the entire window is occupied by the video player.
As you scroll down the right-hand side of the page, the streaming information covers categories such as Live Now, Top Weekly Clips, Suggested Games, Suggested Streamers, Recently Live, and Watched By Your Friends.
On the left side, there is an option to go live. After that, there is a streamer dashboard button. Followed by suggestions on Facebook. When you click a particular gaming video, you are taken to a new page where there is live streaming on the left and comment section on the right. Herein, you also get the option to send stars to the creators which are priced as follows - $1/60 stars which go up to $200/20,000 stars.
Content
Unlike YouTube's gaming service which is well-diversified, Facebook's gaming feels haphazard. There's no clear content diversification and at first, it's hard to understand what's happening on the screen. Sure, there are certain categorization based upon the titles such as "Fortnite?", "Age of Empires?", "Mobile Legends?", "Arena of Valor?" and "PUBG?", but these titles can be found on YouTube and on Twitch in a much-organized manner.
Wide-range of genres
There's a game from almost all the genres on the network, so there's no dearth of content. Whenever you log on, you'll have dozens of streamers active.
On-demand Content
Many people use Facebook Gaming to watch live streams and access archived content. Some people also use Facebook Gaming to seeclips of gaming sessions from days ago. Besides that, there are hundreds and thousands of clips that highlight the gaming sessions of different streamers and entire communities.
For example, if you're looking for videos that are both creative and entertaining, you can watch top weekly clips in the "Creative Videos" category. There are dozens of different categories under which you can find artistic content, so there's something for everyone.
Call for Exclusive titles in the future?
What's missing here is exclusivity. I'm sure these networks would work great tying certain developers and titles under exclusive rights. Think about it, if streamers can be lured, why not the companies that develop the game?
Desktop/Mobile experience
Facebook Gaming is designed to make streaming effortless on all your devices. Regardless of where you're streaming from, you'll get the best experience with fb.gg. Just visit the site and you'll see two bars - Gaming Video and Instant Games.
I don't enjoy watching my favorite creators on the desktop, even though I like gaming on the desktop. I don't know why, but streaming Facebook Gaming on a desktop just doesn't feel right to me. Thus, I try to use my Pixel 2 to watch live gaming and use my desktop for streaming live.
I think the mobile user interface is much better than the desktop interface. Though it's the same content, I feel that the responsive version on the mobile keeps me hooked as compared to the desktop. You can follow streamers easily and their profiles will appear as you scroll down. I streamed Dota, PUBG, FIFA 19 and eFootball 2020 from my mobile phone and I loved the experience.
Plans & Pricing
Facebook Gaming is free to use for everyone, but creators can make use of in-app purchases or other features to lure more audience. On the other hand, viewers can support their favorite creators using stars - a digital gift that acts as a donation.
Suggestions I have for Facebook Gaming
I don't really like Facebook Gaming, but I think there's a lot of room for improvement. The interface looks bland and confusing, and the developers could do a lot more to make the service more intriguing. It doesn't have the edge and it doesn't stand out from other platforms.
Conclusion
Facebook gaming is a great platform for creators and viewers alike. You can follow people, join groups, and watch live streams of your favorite games played by your favorite gamers. You don't have to pay any amount and thus you can consume content for free. I like the support the creator feature which empowers the streamers to improve their streams in more than one way.
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