Facebook will move Instant Games to main app, further simplifying Messenger

By Aaron Mamiit Published July 27, 2019

Facebook will be moving Instant Games into the social network’s main app, a change that will further simplify Messenger.

Facebook launched Instant Games on Messenger in 2016, with titles such as Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Words With Friends Frenzy. The platform is popular with casual gamers due to its social nature, as they can play with their friends or with other people.

Recommended Videos

The Facebook Gaming tab, which was launched in March, will be the new home of Instant Games, according to an official blog post by Facebook’s Global Director of Games Partnerships, Leo Olebe.

The migration of Instant Games play sessions from Messenger to the Facebook Gaming tab will occur in several stages, according to Olebe. This summer, the platform will no longer be accessible in the new version of Messenger for iOS devices. Players will be able to access games through thread updates and chatbots in Messenger, but the gameplay will launch on the main Facebook app.

“For both players and developers, the Facebook Gaming tab will become the primary home for Instant Games within the Facebook family of apps,” Olebe wrote, with the promise that Facebook will look to limit disruptions while the migration is ongoing.

Olebe also said that Facebook will implement a new application process for developers, as well as resume reviews for new games on the platform, to further invest in the growth of Instant Games. It also maintained its commitment to keeping the platform fun and safe for players, and valuable for developers.

The migration of the Instant Games platform to the main Facebook app helps push forward the goal of making Messenger “faster, lighter and simpler,” as Olebe said.

Facebook unveiled Messenger 4 late last year, which was a redesign that simplified the user interface and introduced new customization options. The five shortcut buttons at the bottom of the app were reduced to three, namely Chat, People, and Discover. Instant Games is under the Discover button, but it will now be moving out.

“We’re looking forward to the future of playing games instantly on Facebook, and hope you are too,” Olebe wrote to end the blog post.

Topics

Contributor

Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…

Gaming

Move over, Wordle: The New York Times has a new puzzle game

top tech stories of the week 7 24 2015 new york times starbucks deal

The New York Times has introduced the next title coming to its Games catalog following Wordle's continued success -- and it's all about math. Digits has players adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. You can play its beta for free online right now.
In Digits, players are presented with a target number that they need to match. Players are given six numbers and have the ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide them to get as close to the target as they can. Not every number needs to be used, though, so this game should put your math skills to the test as you combine numbers and try to make the right equations to get as close to the target number as possible.

Players will get a five-star rating if they match the target number exactly, a three-star rating if they get within 10 of the target, and a one-star rating if they can get within 25 of the target number. Currently, players are also able to access five different puzzles with increasingly larger numbers as well. I solved today's puzzle and found it to be an enjoyable number-based game that should appeal to inquisitive minds that like puzzle games such as Threes or other The New York Times titles like Wordle and Spelling Bee.
In an article unveiling Digits and detailing The New York Time Games team's process to game development, The Times says the team will use this free beta to fix bugs and assess if it's worth moving into a more active development phase "where the game is coded and the designs are finalized." So play Digits while you can, as The New York Times may move on from the project if it doesn't get the response it is hoping for.
Digits' beta is available to play for free now on The New York Times Games' website

Gaming

Move over Zelda: Tchia is officially my most anticipated game of 2023

Tchia glides through the air.

There are many big-budget games to look forward to in 2023, like Starfield, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. But after going hands-on with a much smaller indie title, I have a new most anticipated title of 2023. The game in question is Tchia, a vibrant, cheerful, and free-flowing open-world game about a girl exploring a tropical archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.
Tchia - Commented Gameplay Walkthrough
Tchia first caught my attention in a hands-off preview of Kepler Interactive's Gamescom lineup last year, but it took me going hands-on to really understand the magic of Tchia. A freeing open-world game in the same vein as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring, or Sable, Tchia lets players loose on beautiful islands in the Pacific and gives them tools to explore by climbing, gliding, possessing animals and objects, and sailing wherever they want. Its deep understanding and respect for the culture it represents enhance the experience too. If you're wondering what indie darling will wind up becoming this year's critically acclaimed game of the year dark horse, you'll want to keep an eye on Tchia.
What is Tchia?
Tchia is an open-world game following a little girl (named Tchia) trying to find her missing father on an archipelago inspired by New Caledonia, a tropical archipelago in the Pacific Ocean where some of the game's developers are from. While players have the stamina to climb up buildings and trees, swing from them, and even swim, dive, and sail around these islands, they can also soul-jump into lots of different animals and objects. These each add even more gameplay gimmicks that enhance exploration and help Tchia solve puzzles.

I had the chance to play some main story missions during my preview where Tchia befriends a young girl and explores one of the game's biggest islands, completing various objectives and even hunting for treasure. The story was fairly light in what I played, but the gameplay really shined. Although I had some objectives, it was just as fun to climb up the trees near the starting town and fling Tchia into a glide to travel a longer distance.
I could then let go of that glide to do tricks in the air or soul-jump into an animal, allowing me to explore the world in a new way. Tchia makes exploration feel fantastic, as you'll immediately feel like you have all the tools to make this world your oyster.
Oh, and did I mention you can play the ukulele? Because Tchia features a fully playable ukulele.
At a couple of narrative beats during my preview, I encountered rhythm-game-like segments as Tchia performed specific songs, but I could also play the ukulele at any time while I was exploring if I wanted to. While you can play whatever you want, specific melodies have additional effects, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time style. The results of these tunes range from simply changing the time of day to giving Tchia a buff that allows her to breathe underwater infinitely.

Gaming

Your 2021 Samsung TV may get Xbox Game Pass and more game apps next week

A Samsung TV shows the Xbox Game Pass app that comes in the Samsung Gaming Hub.

Samsung is expanding its Gaming Hub by adding the cloud-based streaming app to some 2021 smart TV models starting next week. The service itself is getting more enticing, as the app will soon support 4K cloud game streaming at 60 frames per second (fps) on select games via Nvidia GeForce Now.

Samsung Gaming Hub launched this summer on the company's line of 2022 smart TVs. At launch, the service allowed TV owners to stream games on their TV through cloud services like Xbox Game Pass and Amazon Luna. With its latest update, Samsung has made it clear that the service is only growing as it looks to retroactively put it in front of even more smart TV users.