The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people indoors and gaming has now become one of the biggest past times for netizens across the globe. Everyone’s finding new ways to keep themselves entertained and well, Facebook has debuted its own game streaming mobile app called Facebook Gaming…to contribute to the cause.
Right off the bat, the Facebook Gaming app feels a lot like the main Facebook app. You have a huge brand placement, with search, notification, and the profile icons at the top. It is coupled with a four-tab navigation bar, including the feed, instant games, explore, and messaging sections, at the bottom.
There was an obvious lack of live streams in the feed and it was a bit hard to digest as I went in thinking this is a Twitch rival. And I do spend a lot of time on Twitch daily. The app, however, fulfills this desire of mine via the ‘Explore’ tab. It lets you browse games, video streams, groups, and more for new content. It even suggests you new streamers, group, and games to follow.
Just like Twitch, Facebook Gaming also lets you donate bits to creators to support the streams. And help them earn some money in the process. It’s just that Facebook calls its virtual currency “Stars” and not bits. You can attach animated emojis to stars and send virtual gifts to streamers as well.
The Facebook Gaming mobile app allows you to stream games as well. You don’t need any additional software to record your screen or your face while streaming. The process to start streaming games is super easy too. You simply need to tap on the ‘Go Live’ button at the top, at the bottom left, or from your profile – yeah, it’s everywhere.
You can choose to record your voice or plaster your face over the stream. That’s totally a streamer’s preference. I was able to stream Call of Duty Mobile (at 720p using Nokia 7 Plus and 960p using the OnePlus 7) with ease using this feature. This is great.
In its current form, the Facebook Gaming app is lacking – especially for viewers. One of the things that saw several users quit Facebook in the first place was the influx of memes and video content in their feeds. A game streaming platform should primarily focus on live game streams instead of clips, memes, and video compilations.
I mean, live streaming takes precedence. The Facebook Gaming mobile app doesn’t even let you filter the feed only for live streams, which I find to be very disappointing. Even dedicated game pages for, let’s say PUBG Mobile and GTA V, are cluttered with compilations. Live streams are a fleeting sight. Facebook’s website does a better job at showing me live streams, under a separate header.
