Facebook Moves Into Cloud Gaming
October 26 2020 - 8:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah E. Needleman
Facebook Inc. has become the latest tech heavyweight betting
that the future of videogaming is in the cloud.
The social-media company is adding Netflix-like streaming of
games to its Facebook Gaming platform at no cost to players, a move
expanding its content library to include more-complex and
multiplayer titles. Its free-to-play model is in contrast to the
paid, subscription cloud-gaming services that rivals such as
Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Microsoft Corp. have introduced.
Six games including auto-racing title "Asphalt 9: Legends" will
be available for users to play in some parts of the U.S. on
Facebook's Android app and desktop website, the company said
Monday. Facebook plans to add more cloud games and expand
geographic access to them over time.
Gaming has become a key battleground for tech companies seeking
a financial windfall in a medium where people world-wide are
increasingly spending more time and money. That competition is
taking place, in part, in the cloud since players can avoid
downloading games to their devices, which take up memory, and don't
need to invest in gaming hardware such as a console or a high-end
computer. The technology is difficult for companies to execute
smoothly, though, because games need to support multiple players
with minimal delay regardless of their locations.
"Cloud gaming helps shed the technical limitations of our past,
while bringing us back to our roots at the same time," said Jason
Rubin, Facebook's vice president of play. "Facebook has always been
about delivering games that are free, social and accessible to as
many people as possible."
Within the past year, Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. have
launched subscription-based cloud-gaming services, while chip maker
Nvidia Corp. and electronics maker Sony Corp. have had their own
offerings longer. The services cost between $5 and $15 a month, and
the selection of games they offer vary, with some featuring mainly
older games rather than new releases.
Sony's cloud-gaming service PlayStation Now had 2.2 million paid
subscribers as of April. Nvidia's GeForce Now had 4 million
registered users as of August, including free and paid
subscribers.
Google and Microsoft haven't disclosed paid subscriber numbers
for their cloud-gaming services.
Analysts said adoption of these services has been slow because
their libraries are light on big hits; people might not have
friends who are also subscribers to play with; and it requires
reliable, fast internet for an optimal experience.
By taking baby steps into cloud gaming and doing so after its
big-tech peers, Facebook is demonstrating caution, said Lewis Ward,
research director of games and virtual and augmented reality at
International Data Corp.
"They're going to walk before they run," he said. " They saw
Stadia fall on its face, so they're tamping down expectations out
of the gate. It's probably a 10-year investment strategy to get to
where they want to go."
Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Facebook's Mr. Rubin said that some 380 million people play
games on the company's platform each month and that the company
isn't trying to quickly match rivals' services. He said adding new
titles is challenging, but that will change over time. "It's not a
lot of work for the developer, but it's a decent amount of work on
our side," he said. Facebook's move into cloud gaming comes after
it last year acquired PlayGiga, a company in Madrid that
specializes in the technology.
Boosting the amount of time people spend on Facebook is
essential to the company's business model as it relies on
advertising to generate revenue. Facebook in July said it has 2.7
billion monthly users.
The coronavirus pandemic has fueled growth for the videogame
industry. Some 29% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 64 say they have been
spending more time gaming since the pandemic began, according to
survey data from technology consulting firm Activate.
For Facebook, one barrier to adoption of its cloud-gaming
strategy could be whether its service will be allowed on Apple Inc.
devices. Over the summer, Apple rejected Facebook's submission for
a stand-alone app that would have enabled people to get instant
access to web-based games. Apple later approved the app after
Facebook reluctantly agreed to remove the games from it.
Microsoft in August said it was disappointed with Apple after
the iPhone maker rejected its cloud-gaming app from the App
Store.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 26, 2020 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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