Facebook Gaming has become an increasingly popular platform for both streaming and playing games in recent years. With over 2.5 billion monthly active Facebook users, Facebook Gaming has access to a massive potential audience. But is Facebook Gaming actually a good platform for streamers and gamers compared to established platforms like Twitch and YouTube? Here we’ll examine the pros and cons of Facebook Gaming to see if it lives up to the hype.
The Positives of Facebook Gaming
There are several advantages Facebook Gaming offers compared to other gaming platforms:
- Built-in audience – With billions of existing Facebook users, streamers have access to a huge potential audience right from the start. This gives streamers a better chance of being discovered compared to starting from scratch on a niche platform.
- Lower streaming requirements – Facebook Gaming has lower technical requirements for streaming compared to Twitch. This makes streaming more accessible for casual streamers or those with limited resources.
- Revenue opportunities – Facebook Gaming offers multiple ways for streamers to monetize through ad revenue sharing, subscriptions, and Stars donations. Top Facebook streamers can earn significant income.
- Discoverability features – Facebook Gaming utilizes Facebook’s algorithm and social graph to recommend content to viewers that they are more likely to be interested in. This can increase chances of discovery.
- Strong mobile experience – Facebook Gaming is designed with a mobile-first approach. This suits the many users who primarily access Facebook on their smartphones and tablets.
- Established company – Building a platform on Facebook leverages their existing infrastructure, resources and experience. Streamers don’t have to worry about Facebook Gaming disappearing overnight.
For casual streamers or those just starting out, these advantages make Facebook Gaming an appealing choice. You don’t need an expensive streaming setup or years of experience to start building an audience. The built-in potential reach is Facebook Gaming’s biggest strength.
The Negatives of Facebook Gaming
However, there are also some notable downsides to using Facebook Gaming rather than a dedicated platform like Twitch:
- No streaming focus – Facebook is not designed specifically for streaming. This can result in a less optimal experience compared to a specialized service.
- Smaller core audience – Despite Facebook’s size, most users are not there specifically for gaming content. So the active gaming subset is still smaller than dedicated gaming platforms.
- Cluttered experience – Facebook is cluttered with many different types of content and ads. This makes gaming streams less prominent than on a dedicated platform.
- Limitations for serious streamers – The monetization and streaming capabilities may be sufficient for casual streamers, but not enough for professional-level streamers.
- Less gamer-centric community – Facebook’s diverse audience means less chance of an active gaming community forming around streams compared to gaming-focused platforms.
- Concerns over Facebook practices – Data/privacy concerns, algorithm opacity and other Facebook practices may turn off some gamers.
For streamers who want to make streaming a career, these limitations likely make platforms like Twitch or YouTube Gaming a better choice long-term. The core gaming audience size and focus is still greater on dedicated gaming platforms.
Comparing Key Metrics
Looking at some key streaming metrics also gives insight into how Facebook Gaming compares:
| Metric | Facebook Gaming | Twitch | YouTube Gaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total monthly active users | 380 million | 150 million | Over 500 million |
| Hours watched per month | 1+ billion | 2+ billion | 3.5+ billion |
| Peak concurrent viewers | 800,000 | Over 6 million | Over 1 million |
| Top streamers monthly income | $50-100k | $250k-$500k | $20-100k |
While the total userbase metrics are competitive, Facebook Gaming lags well behind in current hours watched and peak viewers. Top streamers make a healthy income, but still less than Twitch’s highest earners. However, these metrics could shift over time as Facebook pushes further into streaming.
Channels and Communities
Facebook Gaming allows streamers to create Pages and Groups to foster communities around their channels. However, discovering new streamers is not as easy as on platforms like Twitch, nor is navigating between gaming content as fluid. The experience still tends to funnel users towards non-gaming parts of Facebook. So growing an organic community of loyal viewers is more difficult compared to startng on a platform designed for gaming streams.
Streaming Tools and Technology
Facebook Gaming offers streamers features like screensharing, gamer profiles, notifications and chat. However, third-party integrations and more advanced tools like stream overlays and multi-stream capabilities are more limited compared to Twitch and YouTube. So streamers have less control over customizing and optimizing their streams.
The streaming infrastructure and video player also support only up to 720p 60fps streams at launch. So video quality is lower than what viewers may be used to on other platforms. Facebook will need to continue improving their underlying streaming technology to match competitors.
Monetization and Revenue
Facebook does offer several monetization methods out of the gate. Streamers can earn ad revenue through a 55% cut of ad breaks in their streams, earning Stars donations from viewers, and offering monthly subscriptions. However, CPM ad rates and the viewer willingness to donate tend to be lower than on established gaming platforms currently. And Facebook’s revenue sharing splits tend to be less generous than competitors.
For casual streamers, the monetization options should still provide reasonable income potential on Facebook. But for professional full-time streamers, the larger sponsorships and viewer donations available on Twitch and YouTube remain more lucrative overall.
The Verdict
Given the pros and cons detailed above, is Facebook Gaming ultimately a good streaming platform?
For casual, hobbyist and part-time streamers, Facebook Gaming does seem like a viable option. Being able to tap into the huge Facebook userbase with minimal startup costs and technical requirements makes it very attractive. The potential to build up a viewer base and earn some side income is absolutely there, especially leveraging Facebook’s algorithm.
However, more devoted streamers who want to make streaming a full-time career may still find they hit a ceiling relatively quickly on Facebook Gaming. The core gaming audience size, viewing hours, revenue potential and streaming technology just seem better optimized on platforms like Twitch and YouTube right now.
Facebook Gaming has come a long way since launch, but still has noticeable weaknesses compared to specialized services. That said, as Facebook continues improving the platform’s features and gaming focus, it may become more competitive. The sheer size of Facebook’s userbase and resources means the gap could easily narrow over time.
In summary:
- Pros: Built-in audience, accessible for beginners, revenue opportunities, established company
- Cons: No core gaming focus, smaller concurrent audience, limitations for serious streamers
- Verdict: Good for casual streamers, but not optimal yet for full-time professional streaming
The platform’s viability also depends heavily on Facebook properly leveraging the Facebook userbase, while making streaming and viewing gaming content a much more seamless experience overall. With the right improvements over time, Facebook Gaming does have the raw potential to become a top-tier streaming platform.
But for now, newer and casual streamers are likely to find the most success by starting out on Facebook Gaming first, then expanding to Twitch, YouTube and other platforms once they’ve built up a core audience and want to take their streaming career to the next level. This allows them to leverage Facebook’s strengths initially, while mitigating some of its drawbacks.
With smart leveraging of Facebook’s built-in audience and social features, up-and-coming streamers can still get their start and gain traction on Facebook Gaming as part of a multi-platform strategy. But more established streamers may want to stick to specialized gaming platforms that offer greater monetization potential and streaming flexibility.
Facebook Gaming won’t dethrone Twitch as the #1 gaming streaming platform anytime soon. However, it still delivers core value to casual gamers and streamers that can’t be ignored. With Facebook’s resources and adaptability, it remains a gaming streaming contender worth keeping an eye on in the coming years.