Facebook Adds New "Gaming" Tab To Challenge Twitch and YouTube
Facebook has announced that it will now feature a dedicated tab on its website and app that's [...]
Facebook has announced that it will now feature a dedicated tab on its website and app that's dedicated to gaming and those who "play games, watch gaming videos or engage in gaming groups." According to Facebook, over 700 million users each month interact with video games on the platform, so it's no surprise that it wants to expand and cultivate this base with a better experience.
"Each month more than 700 million people play games, watch gaming videos, or engage in gaming groups on Facebook," writes Facebook in a new post on its website. "You might scroll through News Feed and discover a new Instant Game to play with your friends, you might follow a streamer's Page and start watching their content, or you might get a notification alerting members in your Pokémon Go group about a rare Lickitung spotted in a nearby park."
Facebook continues:
"We want to make it easier for people to find and connect around their favorite games, streamers, groups, and more. So today we're starting to roll out a dedicated Facebook Gaming tab in the main navigation bar that will be a central home for people to discover, play, watch, and share gaming content personalized for them. The Facebook Gaming tab is part of Facebook's recent design update to provide personalized shortcuts for people to easily access the communities and content they interact with most."
According to Facebook, the "centerpiece" of the new tab is a feed where you can swiftly find the content you want. The tab will have your Instant Games, the pages you follow, and keep you up to date with all of your various gaming groups. Basically, it's your Facebook feed, but concentrated to just gaming.
Facebook also notes that "over time" it will "recommend and help you discover new streamers based on the games and content you follow." Further, it's working on new ways for people to invites friends, chat, and play together inside the tab.
The new Facebook Gaming tab will be rolled out to a small, undisclosed subset of users to begin with, and then add more users each month until everyone is covered. And if you don't see the tab in your main navigation bar, you'll be able to find it via the Booksmarks menu.
Additionally, Facebook is also still beta testing a standalone Facebook Gaming app on Android, which includes more features than just the vanilla Facebook Gaming tab. However, at the moment, it still doesn't have a release date to share.
"The Facebook Gaming tab allows anyone to participate in the gaming communities that matter most to them," writes Facebook. "All of our work on the Facebook Gaming team adds up to helping build the world's gaming community — a place for everyone to enjoy and experience games together."
As always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know there. Do you have any interest in this new gaming tab from Facebook?
