Facebook Gameroom is the social network’s computer gaming platform, created as a possible rival to Valve’s Steam. It was focused on games for the web and some natives but, after a few years, the service was terminated by the social network.
Learn what Facebook Gameroom is (or was) next.
What is Facebook Gameroom?
Facebook Gameroom is a computer game client, compatible with Windows 7 and later, that allowed you to run the games available within the social network without having to open the site.
Officially launched in April 2017, the service is compatible with web titles, mostly developed in Flash, but also supports some exclusive games developed by partners especially for Facebook Gameroom.
The app was developed in partnership with Unity to support developers who wanted to develop for Gameroom, or adapt existing titles to the platform. However, Facebook initially limited the size of the games to a maximum of 200 MB.
At the time, the social network said it would consider increasing the limit up to 500 MB, and stated that in certain cases, the assessment would be individual. Over time, even titles for iOS and Android, such as Asphalt 9: Legends and Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade, much heavier, have become compatible.
While it wasn’t Facebook’s intention to compete directly with Steam, Gameroom’s support for big-budget mobile games was understood that there was, yes, a certain interest in winning over PC players.
What happened to the service?
Since most Facebook games run in Flash, the end of format support in February 2020 means that the vast majority of them will stop working in 2021. While developers can migrate them to HTML5 or Unity, the social network took the opportunity to make some reforms on Facebook Gaming as a whole.
One of the changes was to enact the end of Facebook Gameroom.
The service will shut down and will stop working on June 30, 2021. From that date, HTML5 games will only be available through the Facebook instant games page, while the platform’s natives will no longer work.
Games that are not migrated from Flash to other formats will also be unavailable, as of January 1, 2021 on the site, and from July 1, 2021 through Facebook Gameroom.
Finally, Facebook will no longer accept new games for the web, even in HTML5 or Unity, from 2021. From that point on, the instant games page will keep only those that are already available and that don’t run in Flash.
Source: Facebook.
