Remember Facebook Instant Games? It’s back

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Last week I wrote about how everything is a games platform.

This week, to my surprise, Facebook Instant Games came back into focus. As of September 16th, in-app purchase functionality is now supported in the native Facebook iOS app.

Softgames CEO Alexander Krug was quick to label the news as a “game-changer” for studios like his that specialise in the instant gaming space.

After years of waiting, studios can now offer IAPs in their games through the native app. Krug said this means instant games “can finally match some of the revenue potential of native games”. Meanwhile, it can power more complex titles in the instant games space, not just ‘mini-games’, while giving the platform a broader reach.

“This is just the beginning, and it could reshape the gaming landscape as we know it,” said Krug. “The line between native apps and Instant Games is officially starting to blur.”

It’s a sign of the times, showing the cracks in the walled gardens of Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems, and has been a long time coming for Facebook Instant Games. It also shows the problems that come with the tough rules the largest platform holders impose on both their customers and developers.

History repeats itself

I remember covering the emergence of Instant Games years ago. In this article from May 2018, I wrote about how in-app purchases had come to Facebook Instant Games. Sound familiar?

But it was only for Android. At the time, six and a half years ago, the social media firm said it was “exploring monetisation options on other platforms”, i.e. iOS.

But even the Android rollout wasn’t smooth. Facebook wanted its own 30% share, while Google wouldn’t relent on its royalties. That left developers with a 49% share of IAP revenue through Instant Games on Google Play.

Facebook was eventually forced to drop its fee through the native app. I’ve mentioned it on the PocketGamer.biz Podcast a few times – the situation is a prime example of how Apple and Google have stifled innovation and competition. Facebook didn’t come out of this clean either – who was it kidding in trying to take its own huge cut? This is not acting competitively in the market either.

Facebook later pulled Instant Games from Messenger, though left them available on the social network itself.

At the time, I asked then Zynga COO Matt Bromberg, now Unity CEO, about Instant Games and the future of chat app games in the West, which the company had been supportive of.

His response: “Facebook very much has had some starts and stops on this platform, and it has been a difficult platform, not just for us but for all developers to be honest. Lots of changes to it, changes in strategy, changes in technology that have made it really difficult.

“And while we have a really successful Words With Friends game on that platform, we also have a very popular Draw Something game, we have otherwise pulled back from supporting it in a major way.

“But the idea is right. And so then we move on, that’s what experimentation is about. You try it, maybe it doesn’t work, you learn something and you move on to the next platform. There is no chance in our view that chat games will not be successful. Or to say it in a more positive way: we are sure that chat games are going to be successful somewhere, somehow, so we just want to be there on those platforms when those platforms come around.”

Okay – this isn’t quite the example of a chat app becoming a hot games platform in the West again (I guess we’ll leave that to Telegram). But it’s another fascinating example of opportunities (finally) opening up on other platforms.

To more broadly quote former EA CEO and founder Trip Hawkins from his Games First Helsinki talk this week:

“I believe browser crossplay, with HTML5 and webGL, I think that’s one of the next waves,” he said. “New hills to go after, not really crowded. Right now you can’t really think of a leading company that’s doing that, period.”

Excruciatingly, painfully slowly, it feels like we’re entering a new era of gaming.