Game Developers Conference SF: Video Recap
Last month, more than 300 mobile and desktop game developers joined our all-day event at GDC in San Francisco. For those who couldn’t attend, we’ve provided a summary of the sessions with links to the videos.
Games are an important category for Facebook, and we are committed to growing a high quality and diverse games ecosystem for developers and users. More than 250 million people are playing games on Facebook each month, and 82% of the top grossing US 100 iOS games apps and 75% of the top grossing US 100 Android games apps are integrated with Facebook.
What’s good for users ultimately benefits developers. Last year alone, we paid out more than $2 billion to game developers and we saw total payers increase 24% year-over-year from the same period in March 2013.
Facebook Games Ecosystem Overview
In 2013, the desktop games business is expected to grow to $15 billion. Facebook’s share is roughly 20% of desktop games business. Sean Ryan, Director of Games Partnerships, talks about his passion for core and mid-core games that are on the rise on Facebook, and Riccardo Zacconi, CEO of King, talks about how Facebook fueled Candy Crush Saga's rapid growth.
Facebook Games Product Update
It's been a record year for games. More than 250 million people, or one out of every 5 users, play games on Facebook.com each month. George Lee, Product Manager for Facebook Games, walks through improvements that have helped drive 75% more game installs year over year. He also discusses how games are part of the overall Facebook experience through News Feed, Timeline, and Graph Search.
Growing Your Game with Facebook
As the quality of social games rises and more people demand higher-quality games, developers need to understand how they can use Facebook's social channels to drive growth, engagement, and retention. Gareth Morris, a Partner Engineer, goes deep with Kixeye and SocialPoint on the distribution channels and how cross-platform integration can help desktop games top the charts on mobile.
Building Core and Mid-Core Games on Facebook
There are 84 million 18-35 males playing games on Facebook each month, which represents 32% of all monthly active gamers. In other words, there's a huge opportunity for core and mid-core game developers to build on Facebook. Andy Katzman, Strategic Partner Manager, Colin Creitz, Partner Engineer, and Peter Chang, Partner Engineer, walk through the products we are building to help gamers find great games and stay connected with each other. In addition, Greg Richardson, CEO of Rumble, discusses how his team is creating a more immersive game experience, and David Helgason, CEO of Unity, talks about 3D gaming and how we're improving the Unity experience on Facebook.
Watch our core gaming trailer to see how this growing genre is transforming gaming on Facebook.
Mastering Facebook Channels on Mobile
Last month, Facebook sent a total of 263 million referrals to the App Store and Google Play. Many top game developers have found Facebook-connected users are more engaged, retain better, and are more likely to become paying customers. Amir Naor, Partner Engineer, and Zoran Martinovic, Strategic Partner Manager, share how mobile developers can drive installs and engagement, and executives from Nordeus and Ludia join the stage to talk about their experiences.
Monetizing Your Game on Facebook
More than 100 developers generated more than $1 million on Facebook last year. Our payments team is committed to growing the games payments ecosystem and driving developer revenue. Deborah Liu, Monetization Product Manager, Daniel Schultz, Partner Engineer, and Sara Brooks, Strategic Partner Manager, discuss how developers can prepare for the updated Facebook Payments and price virtual goods for a global audience.
Thank you from the Facebook Games Team
Thank you to everyone who joined us to learn, share, and connect. We look forward to seeing you next year!
Facebook Games of the Year 2013
