It is still unclear as to why Meta is killing the gaming app but some see it as a cost cutting measure by the company.
The American multinational tech giant Meta announced to discontinue its standalone gaming application by the end of next month.
In an in-app notification, the company announced that the Facebook Gaming app will no longer be available for iOS and Android users from October 28, 2022. The app won’t work post this date and will not be available on Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Users can download their search data before the app is discontinued. However, gamers will still be able to access games on Meta’s social media app – Facebook.
“Despite this news, our mission to connect players, fans and creators with the games they love hasn’t changed, and you’ll still be able to find your games, streamers and groups when you visit Gaming in the Facebook app,” the in-app banner stated.
“We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything that you’ve done to build a thriving community for gamers and fans since this app first launched. This was truly a community-led effort to bring new gaming features to Facebook,” it added.
Meta, then known as Facebook, launched its own gaming app at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020 to better compete with Twitch and YouTube. The app was designed in such a way that it highlighted content from streamers and also let users chat with a group along with other community features. It is still unclear as to why Meta is killing the gaming app but some see it as a cost cutting measure by the company after it reported its first ever revenue decline in April-June quarter.
In August, Facebook also announced that it is shutting down its Live-Shopping feature on October 1 as it shifts its focus to “Reels”, a short-form video product, amid changing consumers’ viewing behaviors.
