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(Pocket-lint) – In 2018, Facebook launched a dedicated game streaming hub and entered the world of video game streaming, competing withYouTube Gaming and Amazon’s Twitch.
Originally, Facebook gaming started life as a dedicated, independent hub known as FB.gg. This hub gave Facebook Live streamers – who primarily broadcast gameplay – a landing page to find streams and start a live stream. In 2019, the company made Facebook Gaming accessible through an easy-to-access tab within the main Facebook app on your phone.
Then the company has launched a dedicated mobile application to make Facebook Gaming even more accessible. But what is Facebook Gaming? How does it work and should you care? We present what you need to know to help you find out.
What is Facebook’s Game Streaming Hub?
To make it easier for you to find and follow game content, Facebook has created a game video hub on Facebook. It is nested under the main website, in the application, and accessible at the short URL FB.gg.
This section of Facebook aggregates live and pre-recorded gaming videos on the social media platform. Keep in mind that Facebook offers the ability to live stream through its Facebook Live tool, and this hub is an extension of that, but with a focus on game streams.
Facebook’s Game Broadcast Center has been in the “experimental phase” for a while, but it’s starting to grow rapidly lately.
This section of Facebook includes a News Feed where fans can explore relevant game content, improvements to recommendations, an expanded inventory of game videos in more languages, and the integration of an Instant Games tab on the mobile version of game hub so people can switch between watching and playing games.
Here’s how Facebook explained the game streaming hub:
“People will be able to discover gaming videos on our new destination based on the creators and games they follow, the Pages they like and the Groups they belong to. We will also feature creators, esports competitions and game industry event content on FB.gg.”
How does Facebook’s game streaming hub work?
On the left side of the hub, there’s a persistent navigation bar, with links to the following sections: Home, Browse Games, Browse Streamers, View Clips and more. Here’s how these sections work.
Homepage
This is the hub homepage. There’s a live stream at the top of the page, followed by a category for selected live streams and another category that lets you find streams by game, like Fortnite. Below that is a category for suggested streamers, which you can then follow individually. Other categories include people you’ve followed, recent live streams, streams watched by your friends, and more.
Browse All Games
The Browse All Hub Games section lets you find other games to follow.
Browse streamers
In this section, you can find specific streamers and those who are already popular on Facebook Gaming. You’ll also see “suggested” streamers on the left side, allowing you to find streamers who are already live.
Tournaments
Players can create tournaments and organize games where players can compete on specific dates.
To play games
As you might expect, you can also access more casual Facebook games to play with your friends. Games like Words with Friends, Uno, Bubble Shooter and many more appear here. You can search for games or find them through categories.
How to Find Facebook’s Game Streaming Hub
Go to FB.gg (or www.facebook.com/gaming).
How do I follow a streamer on Facebook’s Game Hub?
To follow streams from a particular streamer, go to the Suggested Streamers category from the home page, then find a streamer you like, and click Follow. The link will be added to the “Follow” section on the left of the hub, where you can browse all of that person’s available streams.
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How do I follow a game on Facebook’s broadcast hub?
To follow a game’s streams, go to the Streams by Games category from Home, then find a game you like, and click the Add to Games button. The link will be added to the Your games section on the left of the hub. Click on the link to browse all available streams for this game.
How to Stream Your Games to Facebook Gaming
In addition to watching other gamers stream, you might be interested in Facebook Gaming because you want to get into streaming yourself. The good news is that the process is quite simple.
Facebook offers a dedicated page to help you register and join the community of Facebook game creators. This page walks you through the startup process, which includes the following steps:
Sign up to join the Facebook Gaming Creators Community (for early access to new features).
Created a game video creator page (or edited the page to include the “Game video creator” category in the page information).
Configure the software using Streamlabs OBS, OBS Studio Classic or Split.
Create a scene in this software and make all necessary settings.
Visit the creator dashboard to access your streaming key and prepare to stream.
On-line !
Here is a video that shows you how to do it (as an example) with Streamlabs OBS:
You will also find detailed guides here on how to broadcast your game live.
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How to make money with games on Facebook
Besides enjoying playing as a hobby, you might be interested in Facebook streaming to earn some money. Like on Twitch, players have the ability to monetize their gameplay streams in a variety of ways. While Twitch has an affiliate system with subscriptions, bits and such, Facebook has its LevelUp program.
To qualify for this program, streamers must meet certain criteria, including:
Have at least 100 followers on your page
stream content for at least four hours over a 14-day period
stream content for at least two days during that 14-day period
be active for at least 14 days
be 18 years of age or older
Once these criteria are met, you can go to your Creator Dashboard and apply for the Level Up program.
It should be noted that the Level Up program is not available worldwide. So it’s worth checking the current list of approved regions before you start.
Once you have been approved to join the Level Up program, you can monetize your stream. Viewers will be able to send you Facebook stars. For each star sent, Facebook will pay you 0.01 USD. To get paid, you need to earn at least $100 or 10,000 stars. Before that, you will also need to configure your payment settings.
In addition to stars, viewers of your stream can also send you animated virtual gifts with different star values. But don’t start your Facebook gaming career thinking you’ll be rich in a few weeks.
For more on all of this, check out the Bootcamp Level Up.
Facebook
Facebook Gaming on mobile
One of the other updates made by Facebook lately is the addition of the Facebook Gaming app. This app is designed to help game lovers more easily discover content, connect with other gamers, and play casual games.
Launch announcement
1/ We know you’ve waited patiently. Well folks, the day has come: we’re launching FarmVille in VR! j/k, sorry nice twitter crowds, don’t @us! In fact, we’re launching the Facebook Gaming app on Google Play.
Facebook Gaming #playaparttogether (@FacebookGaming) April 20, 2020
The app is very similar to Twitch’s in that it lets you easily access and watch videos from your favorite streamers. From the app, you can also comment on streams and interact with Facebook groups, among other things.
If you feel like it, you can also start streaming from the app. This allows gamers to easily stream mobile gaming with just a few clicks. It could be a broadcast of your mobile Call of Duty game, PUBG mobile or something more casual. You have the choice.
This app is only available on Android for now, but it should also be available on iOS in the near future.
Written by Maggie Tillman and Adrian Willings. Edited by Max Freeman-Mills.
