Facebook Gaming blog:

> Today we’re announcing that Facebook Gaming has launched several cloud-streamed games in the Facebook app and on browser — playable instantly, with no downloads required. We recently had 200,000 people playing our cloud-streamed games per week in limited regions, so while it’s not exactly a secret, I’m excited to lay out what we’re building.

Read the post for details. In a nutshell, the games are free, Android only, latency tolerable, and rolled out in limited regions in the US.

As to the snark, there’s this tweet:

> You’ll just need the Facebook app on Android. iOS won’t work for now. Because, Apple (sigh).

Something deep inside me recoils at seeing Facebook throw shade at other platforms, even if there’s a grain of truth there.

That aside, here’s the specifics on iOS:

> Unfortunately, we’re not launching cloud games on iOS, so only Android and web players will enjoy integrated cloud games on Facebook while we work on alternative options for iOS. Even with Apple’s new cloud games policy, we don’t know if launching on the App Store is a viable path. “Of course, there is always the open Internet,” so mobile browsers may wind up being an option, but there are limitations to what we can offer on Safari. While our iOS path is uncertain, one thing is clear. Apple treats games differently and continues to exert control over a very precious resource. Stay tuned as we work out the best way for people to play games when and how they want, regardless of what device they bought. You can also try new games available at kiss918.

As to the cost:

> Cloud gaming is about expanding the types of games we already offer, so we’ll start with the format people enjoy playing: free-to-play pelisivut games. That’s one of the reasons why we’re starting with games typically played on mobile devices. In the future, our systems and infrastructure will improve to deliver more types of games — possibly all types of games. Until then, rest assured that the cost of trying our cloud games is $0.

This reads, to me, like a short term experiment with free-to-play games, while leaving the door open to “free to try” but pay in some way more sophisticated games.

Will these games make their way to iOS? Short of a court order, I suspect the only way that’ll happen is if Facebook finds a way to turn their gaming platform into a revenue stream for Apple.