The esports and streaming industries are closely tied together. They both operate on the same websites, and many of the most popular streams feature professional esports players. This is true across genres, from FIFA to Street Fighter to Starcraft. Twitch.tv has been the default streaming platforms for years, but it’s not the only company looking to host esports and casual streaming.
Facebook threw its hat in the digital streaming ring by launching Facebook Gaming in mid-2018. Their streaming service is focused on personalization, allowing users to quickly find streams they enjoy through complex recommendation algorithms and real-world connections. Many of the biggest names in esports and streaming, like the Electronic Sports League, FaZe Clan, and DreamHack have begun using Facebook Gaming as an alternative to Twitch. If you want to start streaming your content on Facebook, here’s our Facebook Gaming streaming guide.
Getting Started with Facebook Gaming
Facebook Gaming is, as the name implies, a Facebook-based streaming platform. The very first thing you’ll need to start Facebook Gaming streaming is a Facebook account. Facebook Gaming can connect to your Facebook account’s Friends List and alert your Friends or followers when you go live. Your Friends list can also affect what kind of streams you see on the front page.
Once you’re logged into your account, you’ll need to set up a page for your Facebook Gaming stream.
1. Click on “Create” in the top right of your Facebook home page.
2. Select the “Page” option
3. Name your page (your stream title can be changed as your stream)
4. For the Category, select “Gaming Video Creator”
Click on “Create” in the top right, and once you register, you’ll have access to a wide variety of settings and options. These include everything from customizing your stream’s appearance to picking who will be alerted when you stream Facebook Gaming.
How To Set Up Your Stream
Facebook Gaming only serves as a watchpoint for gaming fans. To start streaming content, you’ll need a streaming program or encoder. These are separate programs that capture audio and video from your computer and camera and send it to a Facebook Gaming live stream. The most popular Facebook Gaming streaming PC encoders are Streamlabs, OBS, XSplit, and StreamElements. Each of these programs comes with a different set of features and quirks, and there are alternative Facebook Gaming encoders for more specific needs.
Remember that if you want to stream off a Playstation, you’ll also need to purchase a capture card. There are several Facebook Gaming streaming PS4 cards to choose from, but the two most popular brands are Elgato and Razer.
Once you’ve installed your streaming program and set the program you intend to stream, you’ll need to enter your Stream Key under Live Stream Setup. This page will also include several options for automatic chat moderation, including age limits, slow chat, and viewer limits. Once you’ve used your Stream Key to connect your streaming software with your Facebook Gaming streaming page, you’re ready to start a live stream.
How To Monitor Your Stream
Opening a livestream that anyone in the world can see may sound daunting, but there are several tools you can use to moderate and analyze your Facebook Gaming live streams. There are five tick boxes on the Live Dashboard that can be turned on or off mid-stream. These settings are:
- Discussion – All comments must be at least 100 characters long
- Follower – Only followers of your Facebook Gaming page can chat
- Restricted – Chat accounts must be at least two weeks old
- Protected – Viewers must watch at least 15 minutes of the stream before commenting
- Slow – Chat messages must be at least 10 seconds apart
These five options prevent chat spam, harassment from burner accounts, brigading, and more. The Live Dashboard also offers word filters and chat rules to help keep things civil. However, there are times where a specific chatter misreads the room and needs to be banned. To ban a user from your Facebook Gaming streaming page;
- Right-click their name attached to a comment and select “Hide this”
- Then click it again and select “Ban”
- They will still be able to spectate your stream, but they will no longer be able to chat
If you’re more interested in tracking your growth as a streamer, Facebook Gaming offers a suite of first-party trackers so you can check on your stream’s growth at any time. Go to Publishing Tools at the top of your Creator page and click on Creator Studio on the left side of the screen. This section will show you important stats like average viewer duration, number of viewers, total minutes viewed, followers, and more.
Facebook Gaming Mobile
In addition to streaming from your PlayStation 4 or personal computer, Facebook Gaming offers extensive support for mobile streaming. The Facebook Gaming Mobile app lets your monitor your creator page away from home and can even serve as a second camera.
The most important feature of Facebook Gaming Mobile is that it lets you live stream directly from your phone. You’ll need to connect your Facebook account with your mobile device and set up a different suite of options there. Mobile gaming is quickly becoming one of the world’s largest media markets, and both casual and competitive mobile game streaming has exploded in popularity. Everyone has access to a smartphone, meaning that the pool of potential mobile game stream viewers is massive. Many of the most popular streamers on Facebook Gaming exclusively livestream mobile games.
Facebook Gaming vs Twitch
Facebook’s streaming service offers quite a few benefits and drawbacks when compared to other streaming websites. Twitch.tv is still the undisputed king of streaming, and its total number of viewers is still much higher. However, Facebook Gaming is a much more beginner-friendly platform. One perk of Facebook Gaming is that you can jumpstart your streaming experience with real-world connections, and if you already have a Facebook account, the process of making a live stream is already halfway done. Facebook Gaming’s support for direct mobile streaming should also play a role in deciding which streaming service you use.
Facebook Gaming’s partnership program is also much easier to access than Twitch’s. If you’re looking to earn money from your live streams, the more robust recommendation algorithm and lower viewer count for partnership qualification will get you earning revenue faster than Twitch. Facebook Gaming streaming partners are also allowed to use copyrighted materials in their broadcast, something that Twitch notoriously prevents.
Facebook Gaming FAQs
- How does Facebook game streaming work?
Very similarly to existing streaming services. Facebook Gaming utilizes the same software as Twitch.tv and has a very similar set of features. Viewers can visit Facebook Gaming live streams without signing into an account and watch any streaming in HD entirely for free. Due to its connection to the Facebook network, Facebook Gaming provides a more intimate and relatable stream environment compared to Twitch.tv.
- Can you make money streaming on Facebook?
There are plenty of full-time streamers on Facebook Gaming, and they earn money through various means. Facebook Gaming features many of the same monetization options as Twitch, either crowdfunding yourself through your viewers or showing them ads to support the channel. The more lucrative monetization options are locked behind Facebook Gaming’s Level Up program, which you gain access to from having 250 returning weekly viewers.
- How do you get paid for Gaming on Facebook?
Donations are very common for popular streamers, who can rack up thousands of viewers quickly after going live. Streamers can also make money from monthly subscriptions, sponsorship deals, and Facebook Gaming’s own micro-donation service called Stars.