Facebook Launch Cloud Gaming Hub In Streaming War

Facebook has launched its new online gaming hub in the growing streaming war, offering several free games via its app or browser in lieu of a separate cloud gaming service.

The news comes as video and game streaming service competition continues to ramp up, with paid cloud subscription services from Google, Apple and soon-to-be Amazon.

Facebook has affirmed no special hardware or controllers are needed to enjoy its games, and claims 200,000 people had recently played its cloud-streamed games in one week.

The company claims over 380 million people play games on its platform every month, with its new cloud-streamed games set to complement HTML5 instant games.

Commentators claim a ramp up in cloud gaming offers the search engine giant the ability to sell even more targeted ads, offering another avenue for brands.

As previously reported, Amazon has deployed its ‘Luna’ paid cloud gaming subscription service to early testers, alongside a dedicated hardware controller.

The news will see free-to-play cloud gaming launching in beta on Android and Web – the company is not launching on iOS for now.

The first set of games available this week include Asphalt 9: Legends by Gameloft; Mobile Legends: Adventure by Moonton; PGA TOUR Golf Shootout by Concrete Software, Inc.; Solitaire: Arthur’s Tale by Qublix Games; and WWE SuperCard by 2K Games.

For the first time, Facebook is offering player names and gaming-themed avatars for gamers to represent themselves, rather than their profile picture and name.

Further information is available on Facebook’s website here.