Thread by @Tocelot

The future of games is instant ⏱️

A new generation of instant games is melding the accessibility of Flash games with the performance of native apps. These games are poised to reshape the market for both players & creators 🎨

But wait, what are instant games? Thread 👇

1/ Instant games are games instantly playable within a browser or message without downloads / installs

First popularized by Flash games in the 2000s, there are more instant game platforms today than ever: @FacebookGaming @XboxGamePass, Snap Games, iOS AppClips, Wechat Miniapps

2/ Modern web tech enable 3D games to be rendered in-browser and run at scale in near app-native performance today. The days of laggy HTML5 apps are long gone

Mojang recently launched @Minecraft as a full multiplayer web game

3/ Instant games are poised to capitalize on all the new social and video platforms that have emerged over the past decade 🌐

Whereas Flash games focused only on Facebook, instant games today can spread via links on @tiktok_us @discord @reddit @Snapchat @Twitch @YouTube & more

4/ The next billion player game could be an instant game that spreads virally on all social networks:
- built around multiplayer
- short sessions with drop-in-drop-out gameplay
- deep livestream & video integration
- designed by/with influencers

5/ Case study - @AmongUsGame reached 500M MAU as a mobile + desktop app that required players to manually matchmake

How much bigger could Among Us have been if folks could instantly play together by clicking a URL in a message or video?

6/ As instant games become popular, distribution will also move toward a more decentralized model

With developers able to engage their audiences directly, app stores will evolve to be more curator 🎨 than gate-keeper 🔐

7/ 100 true fans will be all it takes to make a living as a game creator 💯🧑‍🤝‍🧑 (h/t @ljin18)

Instant games will empower a new class of creator that fuses influencer & game developer. The best creators will know their audiences intimately and design for them

8/ Previously niche genres will find new life in this creator-empowered world, unfettered by publishers or app stores

I'm inspired by #FridayNightFunkin, an instant rhythm game made by 4 friends that's garnered over 30M plays and $2M in donations 🎶

9/ If cloud-native games seek to innovate by building new types of high-end gameplay, instant games are low-end disruption

The potential market is all the folks who don’t self-identify as gamers today but would play if the right game or friend were just a click away

Wrap/ it's likely that cloud gaming and instant games will converge long-term. Users will focus mainly on the experience and playing with friends

For more on games, creators, & instant play:
future.a16z.com/instant-games/