Facebook App Games Getting More Action-Packed Soon

Facebook plans to attract hardcore gamers by launching new action and shooting games this year. While Zynga-style games like Farmville attracts a lot of non-gamers, hardcore gamers who like first-person shooters and other high-end action games tend to invest a lot more money and time into their gaming.

According to a report from Reuters, Facebook is spearheading the launch of 10 or more high-quality games made by third-party developers this year. Developer nWay has already begun a trial of "Chronoblade," last year, a sci-fi combat game, developed by people who have previously worked on Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown, and Diablo games. Another game, Offensive Combat, is a multiplayer first-person shooter by U4iA that was released on Facebook last month after it reached 1 million active monthly users in a test run at the end of 2012. Another game that will hit users and is currently undergoing testing is KingsRoad.

And there's more on the way. Facebook is pushing for these games to try and get users to spend more time on their social networking site, thus boosting the amount of ads displayed and revenue for Mark Zuckerburg's company. Games will also likely include payed extras, like perks and weapons upgrades. Facebook will give 30 percent of profits made from in-game purchases to third-party developers.

"You'll see a whole set of games hitting in the next two quarters in particular and throughout the year that really start to redefine what people thing of Facebook games," said Sean Ryan, head of game partnerships at Facebook.

These games, like Farmville, are meant to be launched from any web browser without needing to install any special software. Facebook has already updated its App Center game categories to break "Action&Arcade" into two separate categories. Interestingly, this new initiative came after Zuckerberg met with Vice President Biden to discuss the role of violent video games and mass shootings.