Facebook’s Instant Games platform will soon receive support for in-app purchases, allowing developers to advertise their creations in a more aggressive manner, the company said Tuesday. The Menlo Park, California-based social media giant took to its annual F8 developer conference to announce the highly requested feature is now technically already available for use, though developers will still be expected to submit their proposed implementations directly to the firm. The application process will open next Monday, May 7, with Facebook being set to evaluate proposals on a case-by-case basis.
Facebook has been trialing Instant Games microtransactions for some six months now, having allowed a small number of well-known developers experiment with the solution under certain conditions. Following the global release of the feature, developers will still have to agree to Facebook’s established revenue sharing model which will leave them with 70-percent of any sales, whereas the remaining 30-percent goes to the social media juggernaut. On mobile devices, Instant Games IAPs adhere with billing terms of their respective platforms, meaning e.g. 30-percent of the price of a microtransaction purchased on Android will go to the Google Play Store, whereas the remaining 70-percent will be shared 70-30 between a developer and Facebook itself.
Facebook has so far only been allowing one form of global Instant Games monetization — advertising — but is now claiming IAPs are just the first step in its efforts to diversify revenue-making opportunities for developers contributing to its online gaming ecosystem. The Facebook-powered platform only became available to all developers this March, even though most consumers were able to access its gaming library for several years now. Instant Games microtransactions will initially only be available on Android and the browser version of Facebook. The company’s F8 conference kicked off yesterday and will be concluded later today, with its day-one highlights including new Facebook features related to dating and blood donations.