Games can now use the new mobile news feed at Facebook as a viral channel

There was a time that game companies at Facebook would draw a broader number of users through the news feeds of the gamers which distributed the message to non-gamers, and though this channel was cut back, the social media company has now announced that it is using the mobile news feed to test game stories.

Until now, game companies have been forced to use paid marketing techniques and actual word of mouth (as opposed to its digital equivalent) in order to grow their user numbers. However, this reinstatement of the game story to the news feed over mobile could indicate that a new boom is on its way for developers of mobile games.

This may also draw game developers to the recently released HTML5 mobile gaming platform as they are drawn in by the potential for exposure to hundreds of millions of Facebook users who are active on a daily basis.

Facebook has a great deal of knowledge about the balance between user experience and the success of developers, having learned a significant amount during the first boom it experienced before it hedged back the ability of game companies to use the news feeds. Users abhorred the “game spam” that they experienced when users continually requested the participation of all of their friends in games and the exchange of virtual goods.

Clearly, Facebook will now be carefully monitoring the volume of game stories that will be able to make it to mobile news feeds to ensure that the past does not repeat itself.