Facebook Gaming is about to become more interactive. Two features are rolling out today that should help creators and their fans seamlessly play games together, and give viewers other ways to get involved with streams.
Play With Streamer is self-explanatory. There will be a button on livestreams that lets viewers play Pac-Man Community (a version of Pac-Man developed in partnership with Genvid and Bandai Namco) with streamers and other community members. Pac-Man Community includes a four-player co-op mode, a mobile-optimized maze creator, rankings and community challenges.
Facebook Interactives, meanwhile, are interactive layers viewers will see on top of livestreams. When Pac-Man Community's Watch Mode is enabled, they can help or hamper an AI-controlled Pac-Man or the ghosts through the in-game video player. Facebook says these features form some of the first steps of its vision for the metaverse.
Other platforms have long had ways for players to interact directly with streams. On Twitch, viewers can control Pokémon and other games by entering commands in the chat. There are also extensions that let viewers impact the game the streamer is playing by, for instance, granting them extra items or even instantly killing their character. With Stadia's Crowd Play feature, viewers can play with a streamer who's broadcasting their gameplay on YouTube, as long as they also own the game and have a sufficient setup.