Facebook Gaming Now Available to iOS Users Through Web App

Starting Friday, Facebook is rolling out its cloud gaming service on iPhone and iPad via a web app that users can add to their home screens as native apps. The site lets you play simple web games like solitaire and match three, and broadcast more graphic-intensive titles like racing games.

But thanks to Apple’s rules, it’s unclear how people will find it, as third-party providers like Facebook are prohibited from directing their app users to websites with non-Apple purchase mechanisms. It’s a moment of great friction not only with Facebook, but also with other gaming companies like Epic, which has strongly protested Apple’s influence on payments with iOS. Facebook’s web game library, which includes HTML5-based and more advanced titles streamed directly from the cloud, uses a personalised payment system on the social network called Facebook Pay to accept in-game purchases.

Facebook’s decision to bring its iOS gaming platform online mimics the approach taken by Amazon and Microsoft, which also introduced Progressive Web Apps or PWAs for their respective cloud gaming services to bypass the App Store. 

Last year, Facebook complained loudly when Apple blocked its efforts to incorporate games into standalone iOS apps, saying it was considering alternatives. Shortly thereafter, Apple changed its rules to allow cloud-based games as long as they were shipped separately as apps on the App Store for review, a policy that Microsoft and others said did not satisfy their desire to launch their own storefront. on iOS.

According to Vivek Sharma, Vice President, Gaming for Facebook, “We’ve come to the same conclusion as others: web apps are the only option for streaming cloud games on iOS at the moment,” 

“As many have pointed out, Apple’s policy of allowing cloud games on the App Store doesn’t allow much. Apple’s requirement that every cloud game have its own page, go through reviews, and appear in search lists, misses the point of cloud gaming. This barrier means preventing gamers from discovering new games, playing them across devices, and having instant access to high-quality games in native iOS apps – even for those not on the latest and most expensive devices,” he added. 

Facebook is yet to become a major player in Gaming as it focuses primarily on courting streamers to broadcast their gameplay for fans to watch. However, last year it landed a cloud gaming startup and released several free titles like Asphalt 9. Since then, the Company has expanded its service into more territories, adding other titles like Assassin’s Creed, Rebellion, and says 1.5 million people play their cloud games every month. 

While Facebook has finally found a solution to bringing cloud gaming to iOS, there are still major limitations that Apple’s Safari browser imposes on web games. Sounds are muted by default, games can’t send push notifications, and graphics aren’t as strong as the original app. And then there’s the discovery problem.

Facebook cloud games are currently available in the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico, while HTML games are available elsewhere, as cloud games slowly move to more regions.