Launched on Tuesday, the new Instant Games platform is an HTML5-based gaming platform that eradicates the need to download the recent Facebook Gameroom app. Instant Games are much faster to play, as all you have to do is just tap on the title you want to play and get started. Instant Games are cross-platform, so they will be playable on both the web and mobile. The real fun happens in Messenger, as the benefit of this is that the users can start a game with a friend on the company’s Messenger app, and the friend is potentially more likely to respond because they don’t have to install anything. Also, users will be able to find games to play alone. To access the games on Messenger, all you have to do is tap on the small controller (or gamepad) icon below the typing area that will bring up Facebook’s range of games, leaderboards and group conversations.
According to Facebook, it has a total of 17 games, which includes the likes of Pac-Man, Galaga, Arkanoid, Space Invaders, and Words With Friends with much more to follow soon. Facebook has also added an Instant Games bookmark in the Explore tab where users can view and discover new titles. Score-based games are tracked through leaderboards visible only to the users who participate on Messenger. Check out the video below that demonstrates just how easy it is to play:
Instant Games are expected to run the gamut from arcade classics through puzzles and word games. “The more games, the more variety of games, the better,” Facebook’s Leo Olebe, director of global games partnerships at the company, told Slashgear. “There are a lot of different people on our platform and so they have a lot of different gaming needs.” Facebook Instant Games have been launched in 30 countries and is available on and is available in up-to-date Facebook and Messenger apps, HTML 5 compatible browsers, iOS devices running 8.0 (or newer) and Android phones & tablets running 5.0 (“Lollipop”) and above. Also, developers have the opportunity to bring their games to the platform with a closed beta registration.
