Many gaming experts agree that the cloud is the next big thing as far as gaming goes, and the thinking behind this is quite simple. As games become more advanced each year, not many people have the hardware to play them as efficiently as possible. Cloud gaming solves this and offers people access to an excellent gaming variety for a very small fee. Think of it as Netflix for games. It’s the ability to play anywhere with any device.
The big tech giants have also recognized this opportunity and are making massive investments in the sector, especially Google and Amazon. But Facebook is also making a move in this industry albeit the social media company is hoping to offer consumers something a bit different.
Both Amazon and Google offer cloud gaming as a standalone service. However, Facebook intends to integrate the service into its existing apps and as we speak, some of these games are already available in select apps.
According to Facebook’s vice president of play Jason Rubin, the social media giant is hoping to offer a simple option. The company is simply doing “free to play games” that are more “latency tolerant.” In essence, Facebook seems to be going to the fundamental basic idea of cloud gaming, and that’s to provide users with a strong variety of gaming options on any device.
The social media giant in fact admits that it is not going to promise users 4K resolution or 60 fps the same way Google and Amazon are doing. However, Facebook can promise the ability for anyone to play games without having to upgrade their devices or even acquire new hardware.
It’s not the first time Facebook is actually offering games on its platform. This has been happening for nearly 10 years. But the social media company recognizes the idea of the cloud could broaden its gaming horizons, making it possible to provide more advanced gaming options to a wider audience.
This is why Facebook acquired Spanish cloud gaming service PlayGiga in an effort to develop the capacity it needs to roll out its “simpler” version of cloud gaming. Facebook says that the new platform will make it possible for at least 300 million users to access its gaming options. The company is, however, planning to venture into more complex games in the future.
The social media giant also notes that it will be rolling out the cloud gaming service in phases. The first phase, as you can probably guess, will kick off in the US in some select states. Some of these states include California, Texas, as well as a few states in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic.
Facebook wants to make the gaming option part of its social media experience. In essence, you just need to log into your Facebook account and you’ll see a list of games available. If you see a game you like, just click it and start playing. That is just how simple the social media giant wants things to be.
