Facebook Messenger users can already video call, pay friends and chat it up with businesses. But they may soon be able to play games, too.
Facebook has confirmed it is in talks with several developers to make games for Messenger. It’s currently unclear how exactly these games will work with the messaging app and when the first games might arrive.
“Currently, we think Messenger Platform is best suited for apps that focus on content creation and curated content,” a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable. “But, one of the reasons we were excited to announce that Messenger Platform is open to all developers is to see what people build. From there, we’ll think about what else might make sense.”
Messenger, which has 600-plus million users, has made serious strides over the last six months to add new features, from customer service and peer-to-peer payments to more recently, video chat — it also opened up as a platform to third-party developers — all in an effort to fuel user growth and engagement.
Last year, Facebook officially spun off Messenger, making it a standalone app. For Facebook mobile users who wanted to message one another on the social network, it was mandatory.
Earlier this month, Messenger head of product Stan Chudnovsky explained to Mashable why it was a good move, not just for Facebook but also for users.
“If Messenger were still buried within the main app, video calling would be buried within that, and it just wouldn’t ever find the light of day,” Chudnovsky told Mashable. “You’d never be thinking about that particular part of the Facebook app as a place where you could have a video conversation with somebody.”
Games for Messenger, meanwhile, makes a whole lot of sense. Whether users end up playing a game for 10 seconds or 10 minutes, that’s more time spent on the app. Facebook clearly wants Messenger to be a compelling experience, regardless of whether users view it as a must-have, digital swiss army knife-type utility or GIF-laden guilty pleasure.
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Source: Mashable.com