The Hunt Is On For Facebook’s Cloud Games On Apple Devices

Facebook Gaming

Facebook’s cloud gaming services is now available on iPhones and iPads — for those who know how to find it.

The web app-based platform, which can be added to home screens on Apple devices, includes everything from Solitaire to graphics-heavy games that will test some users’ streaming capabilities. However, Apple doesn’t let third-party developers direct users to websites to make non-Apple purchases, so Facebook will have to navigate how to get people to buy their games without violating any rules.

“Apple’s requirement for each cloud game to have its own page, go through review and appear in search listings defeats the purpose of cloud gaming,” Facebook’s Vice President of Gaming Vivek Sharma told The Verge in a statement. “These roadblocks mean players are prevented from discovering new games, playing cross-device and accessing high-quality games instantly in native iOS apps — even for those who aren’t using the latest and most expensive devices.”

Those who do find Facebook’s games will pay for them using the social network’s custom payments system called Facebook Pay, which can also be used for in-game purchases.

Facebook announced earlier this month that it is launching its cloud-based gaming platform to make it available to most Americans after testing out the service starting last October. Facebook’s cloud games are currently available in the U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico.

The company is building up its “free-to-play mobile catalog of games in a measured way and deepening the games people can enjoy with their friends on Facebook,” Jason Rubin, the social media giant’s vice president of Play, said in a news release. The beta test started with a handful of cloud-streamed games on Android and web in some U.S. regions.

More than 1.5 million people are playing cloud-streamed games on the service every month. Apple changed its policy last year to allow cloud-based games as iOS apps after they’re reviewed by the App Store.