Facebook builds AR Games for Messenger

Facebook has released its own versions of in-app Snapchat-like multiplayer AR games for its Messenger platform, which users can play with up to 6 people at a time. The two games that have been released are called Don’t Smile – where users compete against each other in a staring contest and the first of them to laugh loses, and Asteroids Attack – where users move their faces around to navigate a space ship whilst defending it from rocks and laser beams. Two other games, Beach Bump and Kitten Craze are also being planned to be released soon.

To play the games, users simply need to click the star icon to open the filter menu and select a game to play. The games are obviously meant to be played with people you’re video-calling, and can be used to liven up otherwise dispirited conversations. These apps were built by Facebook using its own AR Studio tool that was launched recently to help people make their own AR filters.

The AR game-making capability is currently not available to developers, but Facebook says that it always aims to providing top-notch AR content to its users. For now, the AR games do not feature any branding or ads, but can be effectively used to place ads, help promote events and launches, and even let users ‘buy’ powerups. Though the games look less refined and wholesome than Snapchat’s, they are made specifically for split-screen multiplayer.

These AR games are separate from the Messenger Instant Games platform, which are more of a solo effort on the users’ part and are already open for monetization and in-game purchases. With its 1.3 billion users, Messenger will be looking to capitalize on its success by having people more and more time on the app.

Read more at techcrunch.com