Report: Have Facebook games seen their best days already?

The 300 million or so social gamers on Facebook have kept on playing for the past year. That's great and all, but Facebook also hasn't managed to bring in many more players in the same period. That leaves an IHS report to conclude that Facebook games have reached their peak. Of course, the only way to go is down, which is only ever a good thing on roller coasters.

And while that estimated 300 million served as half of Facebook in 2010, the rest of Facebook's new audience seems to have moved even further from games. Gamers now only represent 25 percent of all Facebook users, as of 2011. So, while that number could easily remain the same, that percentage could easily drop even lower. And IHS's Steve Bailey has somber news for new kids on the Facebook game block:

"Facebook rocketed to prominence as a gaming platform in 2009 and 2010," senior analyst Steve Bailey said. "However, with equal speed, the market then settled into a state of maturity in 2011, with conditions becoming markedly more challenging for game operators. While Facebook remains a worthwhile opportunity for companies able to meet these challenges, the tone of the market in 2012 will be somewhat muted compared to the optimistic outlook of the past few years."

Basically, this analyst echoes the opinions of Spry Fox's Daniel Cook, who claims that the indie game renaissance on Facebook is over. (Though, his game was just picked up by Playdom, so take that with a grain of salt.) At any rate, social games on Facebook have reached their maturity point, making 2012 an ever more crucial year for the genre.

[Via IndustryGamers]

Do you agree that Facebook games have reached their peak? If that's the case, then what's next for the genre? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.