Facebook Wants To Make Games Great Again
PITTSBURGH (CBS) -- Games on Facebook are available and well, but they're not what they were a few years ago.
There was a time that is seemed everyone on the platform cared about harvesting their strawberries on Farmville, but that isn't the case anymore. That's soon to change.
Facebook wants the triumphant, revamped and improved return of classic games on their platform, and they're moving in that direction.
For the first time, they're letting game developers in on their messaging app. Games like Pacman, Galaga, Space Invaders and Words with Friends are all thought to be included. The platform is called Instant Games.
"There was a golden age of social gaming which was mainly on the Facebook platform where games were built on a social platform," said David Marcus, Facebook's vice president of messaging products, via Time. "That hasn't happened since."
Thankfully, the update is going to free—but that's subject to change. Marcus says that next year they'll be looking at how to generate revenue for game developers.
That's natural, though, and hardly surprising considering it's not a charity.
"We've been building more and more real-time stuff around voice and video, and we'll continue doing more real-time things and that will potentially come to games," Marcus said.
It seems the initial versions will be focused mainly on one vs. one combat with friends, such is the importance placed on the messaging aspect. Users will have a gaming icon option when they open a chat with friends. They'll be able to play their round, have their score shown and then it'll be their friend's turn.
