Facebook is squeezing all kinds of entertainment within its Messenger app and has announced today that Instant games on Messenger features are now available to the entire 1.2 billion people who use the app every month. Earlier this month Facebook integrated Spotify and later Apple music as extensions within its messaging app. Instant Games, as the platform is called, first launched in closed beta last November with arcade titles like Pac-Man and Galaga. The platform also brought back Facebook browser hallmarks like Zynga’s Words with Friends, in a bid to somehow rejuvenate, the kind of popularity and meteoric engagement those companies enjoyed as standalone apps.
In certain geographic territories, Facebook says it now has more than 50 games available. The company is also introducing turn-based play, with the ability for game makers to integrate leaderboards and tournaments. Words with Friends is one of the first titles to make utilize these features, as Zynga tries to regain some influence in the mobile gaming sector after failing to make the jump from Facebook to iOS and Android. Facebook aims to use its bots and algorithms within the messenger app to encourage players to try new games and be more competitive in a social way.
