It was back in 2018 when Facebook (now Meta) officially launched Facebook Gaming as their way to seize the public's growing appetite for gaming and video livestreams. Meta launched Facebook Gaming as a special tab and standalone app. Recent reports tell us that the Facebook Gaming app might just be up for deletion in October.
For gamers and game stream fans, the Facebook Gaming app provided a means to find content, become involved in communities, and even play instant games.
Facebook Gaming and Twitch numbers
In the years 2019 and 2020, Facebook Gaming was seen as a direct Twitch and YouTube gaming competition. With Facebook's roughly 2.4 million users at the time, streamers from Twitch and other streaming sites were enticed to transfer to Facebook Gaming.
Statistics from Uscreen even recorded a 210% increase in Facebook Gaming streaming hours between 2018 and 2019.
Despite Facebook's efforts to highlight its gaming hub and the use of its gargantuan user base as leverage, Facebook never made it to top Twitch. Another study from 2019 revealed that Facebook Gaming only owned 3.7% of total livestream hours while Twitch dominates with 75.6%.
In 2022, Facebook Live as a whole recorded a total of 803 million total watch hours. This is a pretty huge number that Facebook amassed, but data from Uscreen tells us that Twitch recorded way more than that, with 6 billion hours of total watch time in 2022. Even YouTube Gaming recorded more than a billion total views.
Meta to Remove Facebook Gaming App in October
After just two years since its release, Facebook Gaming's standalone app is on the brink of being completely shut down. This means that Meta's decision to make Facebook Gaming as independent as possible from its main services did not turn into a complete success.
Looking at the Facebook Gaming app in the app store, it is surprising to see that its most popular reviews are complaints about the app's faulty user interface and controls. "Obviously, some of my favorite streamers went to Facebook so I had to download this app. Not very impressed with it," an anonymous user blurted out in the reviews section.
Eurogamer tells us that only its standalone app, not Facebook gaming, will be subjected to a shutdown. The report also says that this move from Meta might be an indication that its gaming platform might be hanging on the ropes as well.
Earlier today, The Facebook Gaming team announced that the app would no longer be available for iOS and Android starting on Oct. 28. It is still unclear, though, if Meta has plans to revive the app anytime soon.
"We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything that you've done to build a thriving community for gamers and fans since the app first launched. This was truly a community-led effort to bring new gaming features to Facebook," Facebook Gaming tells its users.
