Facebook and Blizzard Entertainment are teaming up, with the gaming giant announcing today that it will implement the social network into its biggest games - a move that may also give Facebook Live, Facebook's take on in-the-moment video, a major feather in its cap.
Beginning later this month, players can log into World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Diablo III, StarCraft II, and our newest addiction, Overwatch, using their Facebook credentials in place of a dedicated Battle.net account.
More interesting, however, is Blizzard's eventual plan to let players "Go Live" with just one press of a button, directly beaming their current gaming session to Facebook Live for their friends to spectate, comment, and even subscribe to directly from their News Feed.
Not only will Blizzard's "Go Live" feature make judging your friends' play skills as easy as checking your Facebook, but it also gives the live video service a much-needed strategy for competing with the likes of streaming giants like Twitch and YouTube Gaming - accessibility.
Go Live, Get Likes
By having streams take place directly on the News Feed, finding an audience for your latest raid could be as easy as pressing 'play' because - let's face it - we're constantly checking our Facebook enough as is.
Having the action all take place on your Feed also bypasses the need to redirect your friends to an outside site or get the message out whenever you go live - two hurdles that budding young let's-players tend to face when starting out.
Should other publishers take the bait and incorporate their own version of "Go Live," Facebook's livestream platform could easily become a worthwhile competitor to Twitch and YouTube - or at least make streaming more appealing to hobbyists who'd prefer not to turn it into a day job.
Blizzard has yet to announce exactly when its streaming features will air, but we already can't wait to show our buddies when we finally make a Play of the Game in Overwatc - even if it means making them witness a few embarrassing misplays in Hearthstone as well.
- Sticking with Twitch? Check out our how-to guide for budding streamers
