Numbers don’t lie. No matter how much “hardcore” gamers may hate mobile games or regard them as not being ‘true’ games, they’re still dominating half of the global games industry. Now, how about those games on Facebook? They seem to be overlooked by most people but the fact is that they’re doing better than ever.

According to statistics by Newzoo, over 20 billion game sessions have been played on the Facebook Instant Games platform for the past two years. An incredible 6.3 billion game sessions alone were played in the three months before November 2018. Check out the complete statistics below.

Let’s break it down:

• The reason for the platform’s continuous growth and massive player base can be attributed to the fact to its high accessibility. Games can be played without leaving Facebook (even straight from the app on your device), doesn’t require any additional downloads or installations, and plays on virtually any device regardless of specifications.
• Top-grossing titles include Words With Friends, Draw Something, 8 Ball Pool, Quiz Planet, and Uno; all of which are social or multiplayer games.
• The Facebook Instant Games platform also employ a games-as-a-service model, with in-app purchases available since May 2018.
• Just like mobile games, it remains to be seen if the Facebook Instant Games platform will be able to sustain itself long-term.
• Billions of users still visit Facebook daily, and that makes for a huge potential player base that never ends. These are probably casual gamers who don’t regularly play meatier games on consoles or PC, but they still make up the majority of users.

It’s easy to forget that casual gamers outnumber “hardcore” gamers worldwide, which is why mobile game revenue continues to surpass that of consoles and PC. The same applies to the Facebook Instant Games platform, and it’ll be interesting to see how it fares in the near future.

Will it rise in tune with mobile games, or will it falter and lose steam? Let us know on the comments below or on our Facebook page.