Meta is Discontinuing its Facebook Gaming Mobile Apps in October

Meta is discontinuing its Facebook Gaming apps for iOS and Android in October. Users who launch the app are now greeted with a message warning them that it will stop working on October 28, 2022. Moreover, the message says that users will be able to find their games, streamers, and groups in the main Facebook app.

“We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything that you’ve done to build a thriving community for gamers and fans since this app first launched. This was truly a community-led effort to bring new gaming features to Facebook. Despite this news, our mission to connect players, fans and creators with the games they love hasn’t changed, and you’ll still be able to find your games, streamers and groups when you visit Gaming in the Facebook app,” the message reads.

Facebook is killing its Facebook Gaming app on 28 October 2022 pic.twitter.com/AeQjnSBkWV

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) August 30, 2022

If the Facebook Gaming mobile apps will soon disappear, the platform itself isn’t going away. As you may remember, Google made a similar move a couple of years ago when it shut down its YouTube Gaming mobile and web apps and invited users to watch gaming videos on the main YouTube app.

Still, Meta shutting down its Facebook Gaming apps isn’t really a good look for a service trying to compete with juggernauts such as Twitch and YouTube. According to Streamlabs’ latest Live Streaming Report, Facebook Gaming represented 7.9% of the market share for hours watched in Q2 2022. Worse, hours watched declined 51% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Meta invested a lot of resources in Facebook Gaming in recent years, signing exclusivity deals with some high-profile streamers. The service also welcomed all content creators that use to stream on Microsoft’s now-defunct Mixer platform, though most of them likely moved to greener pastures.