Forget Farmville, Facebook is Launching a New App for Video Gaming

In a world where video games are more popular than movies, it was only a matter of time until The Social Network started their hand at online video streaming.

Today, Facebook unveiled plans to release a brand new, top of the line video apps.

The app itself collects each of Facebook’s gaming-related services together including streaming, social features, and games. It is currently available on Android and Facebook has confirmed that an iOS version is “in the works.”

The app is the latest in Facebook’s efforts to compete with Twitch in the gaming streaming market. In recent months, the company pulled several streamers away from Twitch with exclusive contracts including top Hearthstone streamer Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang and former world #1 Super Smash Bros. pro, Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios.

In February, Facebook also signed an exclusive streaming deal with famous former UFC fighter, Ronda Rousey.

Game streaming is one of the most authentic mediums,& the time is right for me to jump into the stream exclusively on FacebookGaming. My first stream is on Feb18th at 3pmPST–100% of proceeds from the first stream go to Australian bushfire recovery effortshttps://t.co/O9QlM8KkaK pic.twitter.com/pAHMWvhEkU

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) February 13, 2020

What’s Next?

The fact of the matter is that this new form of streaming for video game savvy Facebook users is a direct move by team Zuckerberg to try and take viewers away from Twitch. The current king of video game streaming is something of a destructive force, attracting both young and old demographics across the boards.

Where this will lead for Facebook? Who knows. They have already attempted dating and business apps, with a faltering sense of success, so will video game streaming end up working for a site already blockaded by stale deep-fried meme videos. If anything, this only shows how gaming is becoming an even bigger force, and will only continue to do so in the future.

However, with the amount of failed projects under their belt, as well as an audience that now relies on your aunt’s dog’s profile more than your input, will Facebook be able to sway the youth into watching FB esports? Twitch is already popular. Youtube as well. It just doesn’t seem like this could really work and, if it did, should have occurred years ago when sites like Twitter a

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