Facebook Announces Cloud Gaming Expansion As Ubisoft Signs On
As Microsoft and Google have focused on building out cloud gaming services centered around PC and console games, Facebook Gaming has focused on bringing mobile games to the cloud. After launching its cloud gaming service last October, Facebook revealed today that it has now expanded to the point where Facebook Cloud Gaming is available to 98% of people in the contiguous US. On top of that, the company also revealed that it has brought on Ubisoft as a partner.
While Facebook Cloud Gaming is available to most people in the United States mainland, Facebook's work isn't quite done yet. The company confirmed today that it is on track to covering 100% of people in the contiguous 48 states by fall 2021, though we don't have a more specific window than that at the moment.
This announcement comes as Facebook Cloud Gaming is also beginning to rollout to Canada and Mexico, with Facebook eyeing rollouts in Western and Central Europe in early 2022. As it stands, Facebook says that it has 1.5 million people playing games through the cloud every month, which is a big number likely helped by the fact that Facebook's cloud games are positioned right alongside its HTML5 games.
The company announced today that it has more than 25 cloud-enabled games available through Facebook Gaming. We're about to see Ubisoft add several games to that number, too, as it's the newest partner for Facebook Gaming. The first game from Ubisoft is Assassin's Creed Rebellion, which is available today. Ubisoft will also add Mighty Quest and Trials Frontier to Facebook's cloud library in the coming months. Facebook also detailed a small redesign to the Facebook Gaming hub, which will introduce a "Top in the US" list along with recommendations from Facebook and "better filtering and category sorting options."
It'll be interesting to see how Facebook's self-described "mobile-first" commitment to game streaming will work out as Facebook Cloud Gaming begins to expand around the globe. One can't help but wonder if the focus on offering mobile games through a cloud streaming service might result in less attention overall as Microsoft and Google offer more sophisticated games through the cloud. Still, with 1.5 million people supposedly playing each month, it seems that Facebook has carved out a nice niche for itself, so we'll see if that momentum continues in the future.