Facebook has announced a brand new PC gaming platform, which will be developed in conjunction with – and supported by – Unity.
Do you remember the heady days of Farmville, when you’d be bombarded by thousands of app requests from friends and family on Facebook? Get ready – those days could be about to come back with a vengeance; Facebook has announced the development of a fully fledged gaming platform in conjunction with Unity.
In a statement, Facebook revealed that “œUnity Technologies and Facebook are working together to expand Facebook‘s set of game developer tools and services and give Unity developers new ways to reach and engage the millions of gamers on Facebook. Unity will integrate support for the Facebook platform, including an all-new PC gaming platform currently in development.“
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Facebook has clarified that new functionality will be built into future versions of Unity to streamline the process of exporting and publishing games on the social network. Facebook cited the development, stating that “This will allow Unity developers to quickly deliver their games to the more than 650 million players who enjoy playing Facebook-connected games every month.“
Facebook has clarified that a select group of developers will receive immediate access to a closed alpha build of the new gaming platform, and will further be invited to test new functionality to export their titles to Facebook.
The announcement is similar to that of Sports Stadium, which is the social network’s online center for all sports related activities.
The company released another form of gaming platform in early 2016, dubbed Facebook Games Arcade:
https://youtu.be/ojDZRWsR96I
Facebook’s intent to capture a core gaming audience has been evident for a while; the platform announced earlier this year that it would integrate its Live video service into Blizzard’s hit title, Overwatch.
Further, the fact that the social media company owns Oculus Rift adds little surprise to the announcement.
The social network has confirmed that its gaming platform will run on different types of PCs and won’t be exclusive to Windows. Further, the platform will be distinct from other Facebook services such as News Feed, will support “immersive” hardcore games, and will further promote title discoverability and offer a revenue split for publishers.
Read: Facebook‘s Area 404 hardware lab will develop virtual reality, network technologies
What are your thoughts? Can Facebook hope to compete with Steam? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
