Facebook has announced that it recently kicked off the testing phase for a new video gaming hub on its platform, which contains both live and pre-recorded gaming videos organized in a streamlined manner. The new video gaming destination is meant to help creators improve their chances of getting discovered more quickly and for viewers to explore a vast library of gaming videos through the portal based on their preferences.
The new video gaming center is accessible at fb.gg, which brings users to a destination page where creators, eSports contests, and gaming industry events are featured as well. Since the hub is still in a testing stage, the social networking giant plans to experiment with a couple of other new features such as a social feed showing various gaming content to fans, enhanced recommendations, videos available in a variety of languages, and an Instant Games tab for the mobile version of the service. The Instant Games tab integration will allow users to choose between watching and playing a game. The Menlo Park, California-based company recently announced that Facebook’s Instant Games platform was set to receive support for in-app purchases in a move to let developers promote their creations more easily and cash in on their work. The feature was made technically available for use last month.
Speaking of monetization, Facebook also unveiled a new tool for gaming creators to start building communities on Facebook and grow their number of followers. Called Level Up Program, the effort also aims to help creators generate income from games they create through a fan support feature that the social networking site now calls Facebook Stars. Facebook announced the feature in January and began testing the tool last March, allowing gaming creators to monetize the work they share with fans so that they are able to support the creators they follow by voluntarily paying a monthly fee, just like how Patreon works. In exchange, paying fans will receive exclusive content and a badge that highlights their level of support. The test feature will require the addition of an “in-app purchase” label to Facebook’s app listing on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
