If you think of Facebook and gaming, your mind probably immediately goes to things like Candy Crush Saga or Criminal Case, or maybe you’re still ploughing away in FarmVille. Whatever your Facebook gaming vice – come on…most of us have at least one – that’s the level of gaming that you expect and think of when you combine the Facebook brand with it.
However, Facebook have announced via their developers blog, that that will be teaming up with Unity to support Game Developers.
“Unity Technologies, the largest global development platform for creating 2D, 3D, VR and AR games and experiences, 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. As an extension of the existing relationship, Unity will integrate support for the Facebook platform, including an all-new PC gaming platform currently in development.
“Unity and Facebook are joining forces to build new functionality into Unity that streamlines the process for exporting and publishing games onto Facebook. 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 — a massive and highly-engaged gaming community that enabled Facebook to pay out over $2.5 billion to just web-game developers in 2015 alone.”
You know when you’ve had a few to drink and you think you can do anything? You see that tree with the almost broken branch? I can climb that and jump out like superman! You see that wall by the river? I can run the length of that without falling in! You see that incredibly successful PC Gaming platform called Steam that is the bar-setting, trail-blazing way of buying, developing and playing games? I can outdo that! Basically…Facebook is clearly drunk.
Except they have a massive amount of cash to throw around. They have various business connections and huge appeal already – I mean, this very article will be shared on Facebook! A company that can pay out huge sums like $2.5 billion to web-game developers clearly isn’t afraid to invest. However, at present developers will have to apply by the end of August to take part, but it will be open to only a limited few developers for the time being.
Now I’m a gamer by heart, by soul and by mind. And in all honesty, I don’t care what gaming platform I use if I can use it to the effect of being able to play some great games. It’s why I use Steam, Origin and Uplay to name a few. If they can make this work, then all the better, in reality all competition does is make other competitors improve. If one company has the market cornered, then there’s no real incentive to improve. If there is an abundance of competition, they will fight to be the best.
Either way, this has all the ingredients to be something very interesting as more news come from Facebook and Unity in the coming weeks and months.
What do you think? Failure waiting to happen? Huge potential for success? The end of Steam or another also-ran? Let us know in the comments below or in the RGM Forums.
