Facebook rolls out Instant Games in app purchases for Android and the web

At Facebook’s F8 developer conference today, the social media giant has announced that it will be rolling out in-app purchases (IAP) on the its Instant Games platform.

The submission process for IAP content on the platform opens on May 7, but developers will be able to get access to open documentation to assist in their submissions at some stage today.

In a blog post, product manager Olivier Bouan, discussed some of the reasoning behind the inclusion of IAP.

"Enabling IAP has always been on our roadmap for Instant Games, and it’s a key part of helping developers be successful. Six months ago we started working with developers to test IAP in select games, and last month we opened the Instant Games platform for all developers to build games and integrate ads."

Implementation has only been announced so far for Android and on Facebook.com. Revenue share should compare with the standard for games that currently exist on Facebook, a 70 per cent / 30 per cent split in favourite of the developers. For games bought on mobile, an additional cut may be taken by the mobile platform.

The blog post states that Facebook are currently exploring monetisation on other platforms, with the biggest question mark hovering over Apple’s iOS.