Building on efforts to support community engagement across its social properties, Meta has announced video chat capability for multiplayer gaming on Facebook Messenger.
The messaging service of the world’s biggest social network, Facebook, is set to allow all its users to play games through the platform while making video calls.
“Facebook Gaming is excited to announce that you can now play your favourite games during video calls on Messenger. This new, shared experience in Messenger makes it easy to play games with friends and family during a video call, allowing you to deepen connections with friends and family by engaging in conversations and gameplay at the same time,” the company said.
In recent months, Meta has made a significant push toward stronger communities through its other entities, including WhatsApp and Instagram, amid the rise in popularity of other services like Telegram.
Facebook Gaming video chat capability builds on the company’s goal and sees 14 free-to-play games available in Messenger video calls on iOS, Android, and desktop, with no installation required.
“Games include a mix of brand new titles, like Card Wars by Bombay Play and Exploding Kittens by Coatsink, as well as some fan favourites like Mini Golf FRVR by FRVR and Words With Friends by Zynga. Each game supports a different number of players, but most games can be played with just two people,” Facebook said.
Most recently, IOL reported that after almost a decade, Facebook’s Messenger functionality was making its way back into the mobile app after an announcement that the once standalone messaging app would be absorbed into its primary app alongside the new gaming functionality.
Head of Facebook Tom Alison recently said that to drive further growth to its short-form video offerings, Facebook would reintroduce Messenger to the primary app to make it easier to share and discover videos amid the rise in the video format, popularised by apps like TikTok.
Recent statistics revealed that Facebook Messenger, which inherited its own app in 2014, had grown exponentially, seeing 140 billion messages sent daily.
Speculation also recently arose among online communities that believed Facebook had witnessed a decline in use. Despite this, according to the latest stats released by the company, the social network reached its highest-yet user base of two billion daily active, retaining its position as the largest social network.
How to play games while video calling on Facebook Messenger:
Start a video call on Messenger in the app or on desktop.
Tap the group mode button in the centre.
Then tap on the “Play” icon.
Browse and select a game through the library.
IOL Tech