Facebook brings live-streaming to Messenger games

Facebook is adding new features to its Instant Games platform including support for live streaming via Facebook Live and video chatting with fellow gamers.

Instant Games, launched last November, is a platform for gaming with friends inside the Messenger chat app. While, at launch, it offered 20 games across 30 markets, including titles like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Words With Friends Frenzy. Now that number has grown to over 70 games from more than 100 developers worldwide, the company says, including recently launched Tetris.

First up, Facebook Messenger's live-streaming option that lets you broadcast any Instant game you’re playing through Facebook Live. These streams will also be recorded so you can post them to your profile afterward.

"It's super easy to get started: while playing a game, tap the camera icon located in the upper right corner of the game," Facebook said in a press release. "Once selected, you can choose the audience you want to broadcast to and add a short description to say something about your video. To start recording, just press the 'Start Live Video' button. Once the broadcast ends the video will be published to your Page or profile so that fans and friends who missed it can watch at a later time."

The social network will also soon start testing a feature that lets users video chat while gaming, as well. The feature will initially debut next year in Zynga’s Words with Friends, before expanding to other titles.

According to the company, over 245 million people video chat every month on Messenger. That makes for a large potential audience for a video chatting feature, which adds interactive element to the gaming experience.

That's not all. A slew of new games are coming to the Messenger app, including Angry Birds, Sonic Jump, Disney Tsum Tsum and a new "casual puzzle game" from GungHo Online Entertainment, developer of Puzzle and Dragons. The new games are set to roll out over the "coming weeks and months."