Instant Games, available inside the Facebook Messenger platform, has been around for just over a year now and has expanded from 20 games at launch to 70, including the newly added “Tetris.”

Facebook Inc. on Thursday expanded Instant Games with new features, including additional games, live streaming and a video chat feature that will be available early next year.

Since splitting off from the core Facebook app in 2014, Messenger has expanded beyond being a simple messaging app and now offers everything from making payments to friends and ordering an Uber ride to group video chat and interaction with a wide variety of bots.

Instant Games was originally launched to encourage Facebook Messenger’s 1.3 billion monthly users to spend more time on the messaging platform. With the expansion of the platform to more than 70 games from more than 100 developers worldwide and today’s new features, Facebook is hoping to encourage even more Messenger users to spend time playing games with their friends.

Here’s a look at the latest features coming to Facebook Messenger’s Instant Games:

Live stream your games

The company is bringing its Facebook Live capabilities into Instant Games, allowing users to live stream their games with their friends and family. The stream will be available live, with the final video posted to the user’s Page or profile so friends can also watch it at a later stage. Like all posts, these live video posts can be deleted at any time.

Live streaming of games is a feature already offered by Twitch Interactive Inc., Google LLC’s YouTube and Microsoft Corp., but in Facebook’s case, at least for now, the feature will be used for the entertainment of friends rather than monetization.  

To make use of Facebook Live within Instant Games, tap the camera icon (upper-right hand corner) during a game > select an audience to broadcast to > add a description > tap the “Start Live Video” button.

Video chat

Over 245 million people use video chat on Messenger on a monthly basis and Facebook plans to bring this feature into Instant Games. The company will introduce video chat to Instant Games early next year. The feature will allow friends to video chat while simultaneously playing a game against each other. And also allows users to add fun effects (pictured) during their video chat.

Video chat will roll out first to “Words With Friend”s from Zynga Inc. in early 2018.

More games

Over the next few weeks and months, Facebook is adding more titles to Instant Games, which will join original games, such as “Pac-Man,” “Space Invaders” and “Words With Friends Frenzy.”

New games include the ever-popular “Angry Birds” from CoolGames, the same developers as the recently added “Tetris,” which will launch globally in early 2018. “Sonic Jump” from SEGA Games Co. Ltd. is rolling out now in select regions and will be available globally in the coming weeks.

In 2018, Facebook Messenger brings Disney plush characters to the platform with Disney Tsum Tsum, published by LINE Corp. GungHo Online Entertainment Inc., makers of the “Puzzle & Dragons” game will launch a new puzzle game.

Image: Facebook