Facebook Gaming, a division of the Meta, has announced that you can now play games during video calls on Messenger. At launch, there are 14 free Messenger video calling games available on iOS, Android, and the web. Games include popular titles like Words With Friends, Card Wars, Exploding Kittens, and Mini Gold FRVR.
To access the games, you need to start a video call on Messenger and tap on the group mode button in the middle, then tap on the Play icon. From there, you can browse the game library. The company notes that there must be two or more people on your call to play games.
“Facebook Gaming is excited to announce that you can now play your favorite games during video calls on Messenger,” the company wrote in a blog post. “This new shared experience in Messenger makes it easy to play games with friends and family while on a video call, letting you deepen connections with friends and family by engaging in conversations and playing games at the same time.”
The company says it’s working on bringing more free games to the platform this year. Facebook Gaming invites developers interested in integrating this feature into their games to reach out to the company.
Image credits: facebook games
The news comes as Facebook shut down its standalone Facebook Gaming app last October. The app was launched in April 2020 with the onset of the pandemic as a way for users to watch their favorite broadcasts, play instant games, and participate in game pools. Facebook noted at the time that users would still be able to find their games, streamers, and groups when visiting Gaming in the Facebook app.
While Facebook has been experimenting with Messenger gaming over the past few years, the idea of playing games while video chatting in a quick and easy way might be a welcome addition for some users.
The launch comes as Facebook recently announced that it is testing the ability for users to access their Messenger inbox within the Facebook app. In 2016, Facebook removed messaging capabilities from its mobile web app to push people into the Messenger app, in a move that angered many users. Now, the company is testing reversing that decision.