Instant Games will no longer be playable on Facebook Messenger

Facebook has started the process of migrating Instant Games play sessions from its Messenger app over to the main Facebook Gaming tab. What this basically means is that, later this summer, Instant Games will no longer be playable in the new iOS version of Messenger. 

The key thing to note here is that Messenger will continue to access games through chat bots and thread updates, though the gameplay itself will switch over to Facebook. This means you’ll still be able to use Messenger as a sort of notification channel for your games, even if you can no longer play them there.

Part of the reason for this change is that the Messenger app is now going for a more straightforward, stripped-back user experience. 

More recently, Instant Games has become a centrepiece of the Facebook Gaming tab, with the focus shifting to creating a more central Instant Games experience on Facebook. It started when Instant Games became playable in the Facebook News Feed, then with the launch of Instant Games FB Lite and Instant Games in FB gaming groups. The changes will also take effect on the Android version of Messenger following the iOS migration, though no date has been confirmed.

The team will be updating the current application process for new developers to submit their games on the platform. From now on, new developers will first need to complete a Business Verification and provide their assigned Apple Developer team ID before they can submit anything for review. This is being done in order to “support developer success, improve game discovery, game quality, and platform integrity”.

If you want to find out more about the migration and the reasons behind the changes, you can check out our source article over on Pocketgamer.biz. This decision could well mix up the chat app gaming landscape, and it’s sure to be an initially controversial move for those it’ll impact.