The coronavirus pandemic has shifted a lot of priorities in the business world. From remote work policies fueling the video chat industry, to movie production companies transitioning to a home premiere model, the ability to pivot has become a vital resource in these complex times. Now, with the gaming industry booming, Facebook is taking advantage by pushing up the release of its dedicated gaming app. The Facebook Gaming app has been in development for some time, with tests occurring over the past 18 months in Southeast Asia and Latin America. The app is now available on the Google Play Store and will be released for iOS pending approval from Apple. “A big rise” is honestly a bit of an understatement. According to Statista, the gaming industry saw a 63% total increase in sales — with 4.3 million games sold worldwide — in just one week in mid-March. Additionally, a recent survey found that 19% of respondents are planning on spending more than usual on video games during the pandemic, with 58% insisting there will be no change, which is still better than most industries at this point during the coronavirus outbreak. Twitch, for example, boasts 3 billion hours watched and 121 million hours streamed in just the first quarter of 2020, according to StreamLabs, while YouTube Gaming is looking at 1 billion hours watched and 14 million hours streamed. Comparatively, Facebook is at 550 million hours watched and 4.9 million hours streamed, so they’re going to have a long way to go before they can seriously compete. Still, launching a dedicated gaming app — combined with the coronavirus outbreak — could be the push Facebook Gaming needs to make this a three-horse race. With specific functionality that allows you to seamlessly stream mobile games directly from your smartphone, the mobile gaming population could help Facebook shoulder its way into the discussion.
