Facebook shifting Instant Games from Messenger to main app

San Francisco: Social networking giant Facebook is removing its feature Instant Games out of Messenger and adding it to the Facebook Gaming tab on the main app.

"With our focus on creating a central Instant Games experience on Facebook, and as Messenger moves to be faster, lighter and simpler, we recently started migrating Instant Games play sessions from Messenger to Facebook and the Facebook Gaming tab," Leo Olebe, Global Director, Games Partnerships, Facebook wrote in a blog-post on Saturday. 

With games like Pac-Man and Words With Friends Frenzy, Facebook introduced Instant Games on Messenger in 2016, aiming to boost user-engagement with the platform. 

"To ensure a smooth transition, players in Messenger will continue to access games through thread updates and chat bots, while gameplay itself will app-switch to Facebook," Olebe said. 

During the migration, the company is planning ways to minimise disruptions to both developers and players, and maintain overall game health. 

Players active on Instant Games would be notified and guided with details on platform transitions and timelines. 

"We recently increased the number of people eligible for the Gaming tab based on Instant Games activity and we'll continue to expand this audience over time. We're continuing to expand the global Facebook Gaming team," Olebe added. 

In addition, the social media giant is investing in new architectures and policies to better support developer success, improve game discovery, game quality and platform integrity.

The company is developing new application process that the developers would have to submit before launching their games on the platform. 

The company is also re-opening reviews for new games on the platform in the coming days.