Facebook Gaming standalone app will shut down in October

Meta announced that the standalone Facebook Gaming app would stop working in October. But video game fans can still follow their favorite streamers on Facebook after the app is retired.

The social media empire has been sunsetting several Facebook features and standalone services recently, and the Facebook Gaming app is now placed on the chopping block as well. Upon opening the app, users will now be greeted with a banner notice telling them about the app’s imminent closure.

The notice indicates the standalone Facebook Gaming app will only be available until Oct. 28 on Android and iOS. After that date, the app will also be removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

The app itself is shutting down, but its features and services will remain available, albeit through the main Facebook app. “You’ll still be able to find your games, streamers and groups when you visit Gaming in the Facebook app,” the in-app notice reads. Meta also thanked Facebook Gaming users for supporting the app since it launched in 2020.

In a separate statement, Meta implied that the standalone Facebook Gaming app still served a different purpose. “The standalone Facebook Gaming app has been an incredible environment for our gaming team to test and iterate on a wide variety of gaming-specific features and products, and many of these features have found a home in the main Facebook App,” Meta told TechCrunch.

Facebook Gaming became a dedicated hub for Facebook users who also loved watching gaming streams and finding games to play. It also allowed users to easily find gaming groups on the social media platform. Now, Meta says these functionalities should still be available in the integrated Gaming service in the main Facebook app.

For a while, though, it seemed like Facebook Gaming was touted as Meta’s way to directly compete with Twitch. Streamers who moved to Facebook Gaming enjoyed some perks made available through Facebook’s Subscriptions. Last November, Meta announced that creators get to keep 100% of the Subscription revenue if they were purchased with Facebook Pay.

Facebook Gaming saw steady growth in its two-year life, but it still did not come close to Twitch’s viewership. In July alone, StreamElements and Rainmaker.gg reported (via GamesIndustry) that 1.2 billion streaming hours were watched on Twitch while Facebook Gaming only recorded 424 million hours watched.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash