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Microsoft’s Mixer streamers have a decision to make
Mixer's biggest streaming stars have a month to decide their next home.
Facebook's pro-am 'Mario Tennis' tourney includes the Williams sisters
Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova are among the tennis stars teaming up with celebrities for the tournament.
Facebook's dedicated gaming app is now available on Android
If you own an Android phone, you can now download Facebook's dedicated Gaming app. iPhone and iPad owners will have to wait a bit.
Facebook is releasing a dedicated gaming app tomorrow
A Facebook Gaming app is launching earlier than expected as the social giant takes on Twitch and YouTube.
Facebook’s new tool lets gamers plan their own esports tournaments
Today, Facebook Gaming is launching Tournaments, a new feature that lets users create, join or follow virtual game tournaments. You can host single elimination, double elimination or round robin tournaments, and best of all, it’s open to anyone. Facebook says it’s meant to be a “one-stop shop for everything critically important for tournament organizers.”
Twitch viewing soared 23 percent in March
It won't shock you to hear that livestreaming services are seeing an upswing in viewership due to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people at home, but now it's clear just what kind of effect the outbreak has had on viewing habits. Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet have determined that watch hours surged 23 percent between February and March, to just over 1.2 billion. Other services saw increased demand as well, but their gains were relatively slight. Microsoft's Mixer saw a 15.9 percent gain, while YouTube's gaming streams saw a 10.7 percent boost. Facebook Gaming saw a modest 3.8 percent increase.
Facebook Gaming locks down another big-name streamer: Ronda Rousey
The latest big star to stream their gameplay exclusively on Facebook isn't someone who made their name on Twitch or YouTube per se. UFC trailblazer and former WWE champ Ronda Rousey will hold her first Facebook gaming stream on February 18th at 3PM PST/6PM EST.
Facebook lets Gaming streamers pick and choose their community guidelines
Let's face it: chats for gaming streams can get downright nasty. That's probably why Facebook is giving Gaming streamers access to helpful tools that can help them create and maintain a friendly environment for their fans. Sounds useful, especially since the company has been expanding the service and signing big-name gamers from rival platforms. The social network collaborated with Fair Play Alliance, a coalition of gaming companies, to write eight preset rules for a new toolkit.
Facebook Gaming viewership skyrocketed in 2019
Twitch has a bit less of a stranglehold over game streaming than it did a few years ago, and Facebook Gaming in particular seems to be on the rise. In December 2019, it had an 8.5 percent market share (i.e. the total time people spent watching those two services, Mixer and YouTube Gaming) compared with 3.1 percent a year earlier, according to data from StreamElements and Arsenal.gg. That represents a 210 percent increase in monthly viewership year-over-year to just over 102 million hours watched.
Corinna Kopf is the latest top streamer to jump to Facebook Gaming
Facebook still isn't done snapping up big-name Twitch streamers. Corinna Kopf, who's also known for her YouTube presence, is switching to Facebook Gaming for livestreams. Her first stream on the service will take place December 30th at 7PM Eastern. She explained the move as "expanding [her] gaming career," and saw Facebook as a place that "empowers" both her as a woman gamer and her community. Facebook is providing the "support and tools" to make that growth happen, she said.
How Twitch started to lose its grip on video game streaming
For the longest time, Twitch was the undisputed champ of video game live streaming. The Amazon-owned platform has the highest number of 'broadcasters' and, more importantly, viewers watching, chatting and donating in real-time. For most full-time streamers, switching to any other platform felt like economic suicide. Then, on August 1st, the most popular and recognizable gamer in the West, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, signed an exclusive streaming deal with Mixer, a rival platform owned by Microsoft. "I'm going to get back to the streaming roots," he said in a short video posted on Twitter. "That's what this is all about. I love you guys, and obviously [my] streams are just going to be the exact same. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys on the platform."
Pokémon games are available to play on Facebook
You don't have to fire up a Nintendo console or launch a phone app to play Pokémon video games from now on. The Pokémon Company has released its first two Facebook Gaming titles, Pokémon Medallion Battle and Pokémon Tower Battle, through both the Gaming tab on the social network as well as is in-beta Facebook Gaming app. Tower Battle (shown at right) is available worldwide and has you fighting other players in real time by creating the tallest Pokémon towers -- it's not Jenga with Jigglypuffs, but it's getting there. Medallion Battle, meanwhile, is a more traditional card battler for the Asia-Pacific region that has you tracking down new creatures (new ones are available each month) to build your dream deck.
Facebook buys Spanish cloud gaming company PlayGiga
Facebook is expanding its gaming efforts and has acquired PlayGiga, a startup that ran a cloud gaming service in Europe and some parts of the Middle East. The social network has confirmed the acquisition to Engadget after a report about the deal was published by business publication Cinco Días. While the tech giant didn't elaborate on the terms of the acquisition, Cinco Días reported that the deal cost Facebook 70 million Euros (US$78 million).
Twitch spends big to keep top streamers DrLupo, TimTheTatman and LIRIK
Begun, the streaming wars have. In a year filled with high-profile defections to rival services, Twitch has been forced to put down the cash to keep its top personalities on the platform. In an announcement, Benjamin "DrLupo" Lupo, Saqib "LIRIK" Zahid and Timothy "TimTheTatman" Betar, confirmed they will remain with the Amazon-owned streaming service after signing "multi-year content deals."
Facebook's latest big Twitch steal is 'Smash Bros.' streamer ZeRo
You can add Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios, one of the most popular Smash Bros. players, to the list of high-profile Twitch streamers who recently jumped ship. ZeRo has entered an exclusive streaming rights deal with Facebook Gaming, which now also serves as the home of former Twitch streamer Jeremy "Disguised Toast" Wang, known for League of Legends among other games. According to ESPN, he will continue posting videos on YouTube, but he'll no longer be on Twitch.
Facebook's Instant Games are leaving Messenger
Facebook's Instant Games, casual games that you can play with friends, have never quite found a home since they were introduced in 2016. While serious gamers tend to overlook them, free-to-play Instant Games are surprisingly popular with some estimates saying more than 20 billion game sessions were played over two years.
Facebook’s redesigned app gets a dedicated gaming hub
Facebook announced today that it is introducing a dedicated "Facebook Gaming" tab to help gamers find the content they're looking for on the platform. The tab will be available in the main navigation bar in Facebook's app. The feature is getting a slow rollout, starting with a portion of the 700 million people who Facebook claims interact with gaming content each month. The navigation option will start appearing for more gamers on Facebook over time.
Zynga reports record revenue in last quarter
A recent SEC filing from Zynga, creator of the social gaming epidemic known as FarmVille, revealed that the company is reporting a record quarterly revenue of over 306 million USD, though -- bizarrely enough -- profits are almost 54 percent lower than they were this time last year. Revenue isn't the only thing that's on the rise, either. The company reports 152 million unique monthly players, compared to the 151 million the company reported in June. The average number of daily players, however, dropped from 59 million to 54 million. At any rate, the company seems to be going strong, with new titles such as the recently announced (supposed MMO) CastleVille just on the horizon.