Image courtesy: Yahoo Canada Style
Facebook is introducing fantasy sports-style prediction games that will allow users to forecast what will happen in sports, TV shows, and pop culture. The new games, dubbed Facebook Fantasy Games, will be available first on the iOS and Android applications for users in the United States and Canada.
Pick & Play Sports, a daily sports prediction game created in collaboration with Whistle Sports, is the first game accessible. (It was previously accessible on the iOS app for me, so it may be available for you as well.) Facebook promises to offer other games for TV series like The Bachelorette and Survivor, sports organisations like Major League Baseball, and one created in collaboration with BuzzFeed in the “coming months.” There will be public leaderboards for the games. However, if you want to compete with smaller groups or simply talk trash, you may create your own public or private leagues.
However, the games do not appear to have elements that allow you to gamble real money, so if you wish to place bets, you will have to manage those transactions yourself. In addition, it does not appear that Facebook is currently offering regular fantasy sports leagues. However, this might be Facebook’s first foray into competing with large fantasy sports organisations such as DraftKings and ESPN.
In an effort to retain people utilising its services, Facebook has recently expanded into gaming. In July, the firm created a web app for its cloud gaming service to circumvent Apple’s App Store regulations and allow iOS customers to check it out. Facebook Gaming, a Twitch-like streaming service, is also available. These new fantasy games offer something different than more typical gaming options, but they appear to be a better match for the social network – it appears simple to broadcast a daring selection on your feed and wait for the comments to pour in.
