Remember Words With Friends? Expect to have a whole flood of new invites to play via Messenger, with Facebook revealing its new gaming push on the service.
Speaking with Gizmodo, Facebook revealed a plan to include advertising (“its already possible”) and microtransactions (“something we are working on”) to be implemented for developers “within six to nine months”.
“Instant Games” are now rolling out for all 1.2 billion people who use Messenger every month – with the turn-based nature of the platform lending itself perfectly to titles including including Blackstorm’s EverWing, 8 Ball Pool and of course – Words With Friends.
Facebook has also opened up access to rich gameplay features allowing developers to “create unique and sophisticated experiences” and Game bots, which promise as new way to help developers keep players engaged – as well as add in leaderboards and tournaments.
“When developers start to take advantage of these new capabilities everyone wins with more dynamic and engaging gaming experiences,” Facebook says. “One of the first games to take advantage of the new rich gameplay features is Zynga’s Words With Friends.”
Depending on what device you use and where you are located, there are now up to 50 games titles available on Messenger, with more being introduced almost every week. The new Instant Games on Messenger will roll out over the next few weeks worldwide for both iOS and Android.
Right now you can already play Snake, PacMan, Space Invaders, Blackjack, Gin Rummy, Solitaire, Sudoku, Cooking Mama and Bat Climb – among others.