Facebook launches dedicated home for its Gaming

Social media giant Facebook has announced a new home for its Gaming feature.

Some would say it's certainly apt timing given recent events with the company's massive outage around the world. Nevertheless, Facebook says every month there are more than 700 million people playing games, watching gaming videos, or engaging in gaming groups on Facebook.

"You might scroll through News Feed and discover a new Instant Game to play with your friends, you might follow a streamer's Page and start watching their content, or you might get a notification alerting members in your Pokémon Go group about a rare Lickitung spotted in a nearby park," says Facebook Gaming vice president Vijaye Raj.

"We want to make it easier for people to find and connect around their favourite games, streamers, groups, and more. So today we're starting to roll out a dedicated Facebook Gaming tab in the main navigation bar that will be a central home for people to discover, play, watch, and share gaming content personalised for them.

Raj says the Facebook Gaming tab is part of the company's recent update to provide personalised shortcuts to enable easy access to the communities each individual interacts with the most.

The heart of the Facebook Gaming tab is a feed where you can find the content that matters to you. In one place you can:

• Play your favourite Instant Games and find new ones to enjoy with friends: "The Facebook Gaming tab will become the primary home for Instant Games on Facebook, and we're building new ways for people to invite friends, chat, and play together inside the tab," says Raj.
• Watch gaming videos: You can find and follow videos from popular streamers, esports organisations, and game publishers. As you use the service more, Facebook will personalise your experience with recommended streamers based on the games and content you follow.
• Connect with gaming groups: Follow updates from your gaming groups, connect with other group members, and find new groups to join. "Gaming groups are some of the largest and most engaged communities on Facebook, and the Facebook Gaming tab brings this content together in one place," says Raj.

According to Raj, new features in the Facebook Gaming tab expand on the gaming video destination we announced last year.

"As we learn from the community, we'll test new experiences in the tab, add more types of gaming content, and improve our content recommendations over time. New features in the Facebook Gaming tab expand on the gaming video destination we announced last year," says Raj.

"We'll start rolling out the Facebook Gaming tab to a small subset of the more than 700 million people who enjoy gaming on Facebook each month. Over time, we'll expand access to more gaming enthusiasts. People who don't see the tab in their main navigation bar can find it by going to the Bookmarks menu.

Raj asserts they're also continuing beta testing of a standalone Facebook Gaming app on Android, which includes more features than you'll find in the Facebook Gaming tab.

"The Facebook Gaming tab allows anyone to participate in the gaming communities that matter most to them. All of our work on the Facebook Gaming team adds up to helping build the world's gaming community — a place for everyone to enjoy and experience games together," concludes Raj.