Facebook, which is still making baby steps in cloud gaming, has been joined by Ubisoft in its venture. Meanwhile, Facebook Cloud Gaming still needs to work on many things, expanding out of the US for one. On the other hand, Facebook is the latest tech giant to enter the cloud gaming scene; it offers something different from its competitors.
While companies like Amazon and Google have their own respective cloud gaming platforms, which don’t come free, the tech giant is introducing cloud gaming free of cost. Moreover, Facebook promises to deliver a free experience on the Facebook app itself.
What Is Facebook Cloud Gaming?
For the uninitiated, Facebook Cloud Gaming promises to deliver mobile games to players via the Facebook app. Through its Cloud Gaming, you can play mobile games without installing them. On the other hand, it’s still no match for Microsoft’s Xcloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass.
While Facebook made its debut in the Cloud Gaming scene last year, the service was limited to certain regions in the U.S. with a closed beta. Moreover, Cloud Gaming from the tech giant is only available on Android and web browsers, leaving iOS users in the dark.
This is how the tech giant explains its service: “We’re not spinning off a separate service, charging subscription fees, or trying to replace consoles, PCs, or mobile phones. We’re building up our free-to-play mobile catalogue of games in a measured way and deepening the games people can enjoy with their friends on Facebook.”
In a recent press release, Facebook mentioned its plans to expand the service throughout the U.S. in the coming days. Furthermore, the tech giant plans to stretch its Cloud Gaming service to Canada and Mexico. While there’s no specified date, we’re guessing it might happen later this year or even earlier.
Meanwhile, for Cloud Gaming enthusiasts worldwide, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Since the tech giant is still planning on expanding its Cloud Gaming service to Western and Central Europe by early 2022.
Facebook and Ubisoft: What’s next?
The partnership, which was announced recently, comes as a surprise. Ubisoft, which seems to have a lot on its plate right now, with a new Avatar game lined up alongside Far Cry 6, has joined Facebook in its latest venture. The news of Facebook and Ubisoft working together for Cloud Gaming is an exciting one, and also an important one. While the partnership could work wonders for both parties, we believe the players will gain the most out of this.
Ubisoft, which is known for its Assasin’s Creed franchise, has started with its trump card. The first product of this alliance is Assasin’s Creed Rebellion, a game released for mobile being launched on Facebook Cloud Gaming. Furthermore, many mobile games from Ubisoft have been launched on the tech giant’s platform.
Games On Facebook Cloud Gaming
While games like Hungry Shark Evolution, Hungry Dragon are available to play right now; Mighty Quests and Trial Frontier are yet to arrive. Currently, there are 25 cloud-based games on Facebook Cloud Gaming, with more to be launched soon.
We believe Cloud Gaming is the future; unfortunately, latency is a significant issue when it comes to gaming on cloud services. While Facebook promises to work on lowering the latency on its free platform, things still have a long way to go. Interestingly, this is what Facebook has to say, “We’re continuing to reduce latency for cloud games on both Android and desktop too. Lowering latency caps further will unlock even more game genres.”
Ultimately, we believe it’s good for the industry as Facebook is taking baby steps in Cloud Gaming and the tech giant still needs to work things out. Moreover, upgrade from mobile-based games if it wants to take on big players like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. What are your thoughts on the tech giant entering into Cloud Gaming services, do share them with us.
