Game Launch Checklist

On August 9, 2019, we introduced a new Instant Games developer application process. Before you can submit any game for review, you will need to:

Associate your application with a business.
Get the associated business verified, if it is not already the case.
Have a Facebook page that represents your business. That page must share the same name as your business.
Have a valid Apple Developer Team ID.

Once your application is accepted, you will be able to submit games for review and to launch them into our discovery surfaces (game list, etc.).

Learn more about how to Create a Business Manager and how to Verify a Business.

Per section 1.7 of Facebook Platform Policy, to minimize the risk of confusing information, only pre-approved games related to coronavirus (COVID-19) are allowed.

Before submitting your instant game, make sure it meets the criteria below.

Game Checklist

Your game must:

Have visibility set to Live at the top of the App Dashboard

Have a Namespace specified in the Settings tab

Have all assets uploaded as detailed in the Game Setup section

Have an initial download size of no more than 3MB (or 1MB for lightweight games)

Provide real loading progress via FBInstant.setLoadingProgress

Respect the physical mute switch on Mobile devices (we recommend using the WebAudio API)

Use of SDK 6.0 or later, with all Custom Updates being sent via templates

Gracefully handle interruptions by subscribing to FBInstant.onPause. The game should pause all sounds and implement a mechanism to resume the game (e.g., a "Resume" button)

Be in compliance with all posted Facebook Platform Terms and Developer Policies

Be linked to a business for App Review. The business must be a verified business in order to launch the game

Feel like a native game (it should not scroll, zoom or pan like a webpage)

Your game must not:

Include branding in its name (e.g. "Messenger"; "Facebook")

Share an App ID with any other live applications (e.g., a Facebook Web game)

Link to any other website or app (exception: linking to a privacy policy page)

Ask for any user information that is not provided by the Instant Games SDK (including use of the Facebook Platform Javascript SDK)

Inline the Instant Games SDK, or use a version other than the one at connect.facebook.com

Send more than one Game Update per context per session

Show third-party ads

Show any payments functionality on platforms where payments are not supported

Call methods other than the following before startGameAsync has resolved:

FBInstant.getSDKVersion()
FBInstant.initializeAsync()
FBInstant.getPlatform()
FBInstant.setLoadingProgress()
FBInstant.getSupportedAPIs()
FBInstant.quit()
FBInstant.onPause()
FBInstant.player.getID()

Since March 24, 2019, more methods can be called before startGameAsync has resolved. Learn more about it by checking what is new in the Instant Games SDK 6.3.

Specifically for iOS users, your game should not:

Cross promote other instant games (including via the bot)

Allow sending gifts to friends

Show any payments functionality or any reference to their availability on other platforms

Game Updates via Messenger Checklist

Game Updates via Messenger can be a powerful retention mechanic when used effectively, but used poorly they can provide an annoying player experience and drive users away from your game. We provide the following guidelines to help you optimize your Game Updates via Messenger experience.

Implementation and Set Up:

Name the Facebook Page associated with the Game Updates via Messenger the same as the game.bot the same as the game.

Set the default action to use game_play on game updates, so that the entire image takes you into the game.

Do not set messaging_type to any other value than RESPONSE or UPDATE.

Do not use the Messenger Platform's Broadcast API as it is currently not yet available for Game Updates via Messenger.

Do:

Provide relevant, timely and valuable updates to the players.

Triggers and frequency - complement your game loops:

Time: e.g. Friday night / Long weekend / etc - Optimize time of day for message sends per user, being sensitive to timezones
Change of in-game progress: e.g. someone scored
Social network: e.g. a friend has joined
Programmatic: e.g. new daily reward unlocked
Frequency: Games with high retention tend to avoid sending more than 1-2 updates per day (this includes Game and Custom Updates, since to a user, it looks the same).

Content

Sending fresh and different content each day also helps
maintain engagement. Make use of social updates like turn reminders, tournaments results, timed rewards and challenges.
Use Game Updates to announce new features or content.

Landing experience:

Make sure your players have the right incentives to open the game by using the message payload to reward them in-game with something valuable. A Game Update via Messengeris generally not effective if it opens your game to the start screen.
Use entry point data on play buttons to load the game in contextually relevant ways.

Follow the general best practices for Messenger Bots.

Do not:

Promotion:

Promote or advertise another game separate from the game the user is playing.
Link to any app store.

Triggers and frequency:

Send a Game Update immediately after the player closes the game. Spammy experiences can create churn for your players.
Continue to send a user Game Updates when they repeatedly do not engage. Policy limits will apply and block your update from being sent. Current limits are 5 updates over 10 days since the last game play session. When testing, make sure to play your game at least once every 5 updates.

Content:

Send Game Updates to re-engage the player with no context (e.g.: "Come back to the game now!"). Instead prefer re-engagement updates with rich context (e.g.: "Your scout has come back with more info")
Adopt the voice of other Facebook users or mislead players to believe their friends are communicating with them.

Submitting For Review

The Review tab of the developer dashboard allows you to submit your game to our review team. Ensure the game complies with all relevant policies before submitting.

During submission, you must provide an Apple Developer team ID in accordance with Apple's App Store Review Guidelines 4.7. This enables distribution on iOS.

Do not include the instant game in-app purchases option in your submission if your game doesn't have an in-app purchasing feature. Review our In App Purchases page for more info.

Review should take under a week to complete. Once a game is reviewed, it does not need to be reviewed again unless it is found to be in violation of our developer policies.

Launching an Instant Game

You can track the status of your game on the Launch Status tab of the developer dashboard.

Global or Country Launch

A game can be launched either globally or by country. Selecting the Select Countries option to choose individual countries.