Facebook Launches Gaming Creator Program Aimed At Twitch, YouTube

Author:

TNL Take: To get some insight into how Facebook and Mark Zuckerburg view competition, read this fantastic article on their war with Google over Google Plus. My favorite part is when he addresses his Facebook army and quotes Roman senator Cato the Elder:

“You know, one of my favorite Roman orators ended every speech with the phrase 'Carthago delenda est.‘ Carthage must be destroyed.’ For some reason I think of that now"

When Facebook sees an opportunity or threat, they maximize their vast audience and resources to counter. Case in point - when was the last time you used Google Plus?

Coming right after their exclusive distribution deal with ESL, Facebook has now launched a Gaming Creator program. The program provides creators the following:

  • Helping gaming creators build more engaged communities

  • Increasing discovery and distribution across multiple surfaces, including Facebook.com, Instagram and Oculus. The last one is key as only Facebook currently has VR hardware in house

  • Supporting gaming creators with the types of tools needed for optimal streaming

FB2.png

If all that sounds very familiar it should be as those features and more have been available to Twitch and YouTube streamers for a while. One additional feature that will be slowly rolled out after its December soft launch is tipping - which now allows for a $3M minimum to be given to creators. While the revenue share was not revealed, previously Facebook has taken anywhere from 30% - 45%.

This move also comes on the announcement that Facebook would overhaul its News Feed to focus on mutual connections vs. news or brand updates. Gaming streams would likely be "stickier" that seeing random videos in your feed. You can also envision a future where  Facebook Watch plays into this and monetization (ie: Video Ads) occurs.

 

While there was plenty of outcry over ESL's exclusive deal with Facebook, this is just the beginning for Zuck and Co. to make more inroads into live streaming and esports.