Have you noticed any errant “suggestions” for mobile games in your mobile Facebook notifications recently? It’s not an accident; it’s a pilot project.
Today, Facebook has made official its Mobile Games Publishing program, partnering with 10 mobile games publishers, including Gameloft, Gamevil, Dragonplay and KiwiGames to “provide promotional support for their games in placements across our mobile apps.”
With 260 million people playing games on Facebook, and over 800 million monthly mobile users, there is a huge opportunity for game publishers, big and small, to gain some much-needed recognition for their games.
The program isn’t meant to spam users: suggestions are catered to games people are already playing, so strategy gamers will see similar titles to what they enjoy today. Facebook wins because they get a piece of the revenue accrued from in-app purchases, while publishers will see composite analytics and “expertise” from the social network.
Facebook clearly sees a road for shared revenue with publishers, and is opening up the program to small and medium-sized game developers “looking to take [their games] global.”
The games will likely be cross-platform Android and iOS games, though it’s not out of the question for Facebook to support BlackBerry and Windows Phone in the future.
This week, Montreal’s Execution Labs announced a partnership with BDC Venture Capital that will offer $150,000 to graduates of the Labs’ independent game incubator to more easily attract funding and bring in revenue. No word on whether Execution will be involved with Facebook, but we’d be happy to see some collaboration in the future.