Facebook launches its own app store

Facebook is to launch an ‘app store’ to showcase the games and apps that can earn the site much of its revenue.

The site is also to offer downloads of apps for phones and tablets – a first for Facebook.

The store opens in the U.S. today, with launch dates for other territories to follow.


At launch, it will offer 600 apps, including Draw Something, and Nike+ GPS, and new apps including Jetpack Joyride, Ghosts of Mistwood, and Ghost Recon Commander.

Pinterest, which is a pin-board style app to help you plan for occasions, is also on the Facebook App Centre

The ‘store’ will also offer Facebook’s first paid-for apps, with developers free to charge for their mobile applications. If mobile users buy apps, they are directed to the Google Play store or iTunes page for that app.

“To make it easier to find social apps for mobile, the App Center is available in the Facebook iOS and Android apps, as well as Facebook.com,” says the company via its developer blog.

“You can send apps you find on your computer to your mobile device using the new ‘Send to Mobile’ feature. If a mobile app requires a download, you’ll be sent to install it from the Apple App Store or Google Play.”

Facebook Credits

Consumers will need to use Facebook Credits, the company’s payment system, to purchase the apps and Facebook will take a 30 percent cut of the revenue as it does with in-app purchases, said Facebook spokeswoman Malorie Lucich.

Facebook is introducing the app service to give software developers additional options, but the company expects in-app purchases to remain more prevalent on the social network, said Lucich.

Apps, ranging from social games to music services, are popular activities on Facebook, the world’s leading online social network with roughly 900 million users.

Games will also be available on the site, which has over one billion users

According to the company, 200 of the apps that are available on Facebook have more than 1 million users.

The App Center will feature apps that designed for PCs as well as for mobile devices such as Apple iPhones and Android smartphones.

If a mobile app requires installation for the mobile device, Facebook said it will direct users to Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play store to download the app.