Facebook Gaming Creator Program is Ending in 2025

• Facebook Gaming Creator Program to end support by Oct 31, 2025, full shutdown in 2026.
• Facebook Gaming watch hours dropped from 1.29B in Q3 2021 to 66.5M in Q3 2024.
• Non-gaming content surges 25.6%, with platforms like Chzzk and SOOP Korea.

Facebook Gaming Creator Program will end, confirms Meta. The dedicated partner support of the program shall end by October 31, 2025, with a complete shutdown slated for 2026. 

Creators who are currently in the perimeter of the program will be able to monetize their content till the “program ends in 2026.” Post that, the creators will have to opt for broader monetization options like the Facebook Content Monetization program and Facebook Subscriptions.

Facebook’s Gaming Creator Program was launched in 2018, providing early access to new features. It also allowed creators to have enhanced support and use tools to monetize via donations and fan contributions. 

Declining Global Gaming Engagement

Facebook Gaming has seen a dramatic fall in engagement, despite 350 million users accessing Instant Games. It dipped to just 66.5 million in Q3 2024, from 1.29 billion watch hours in Q3 2021, as per Streamlabs. This, however, does not stop the broader live-streaming ecosystem from expanding. 

Stream Hatchet’s Q1 2025 Video Game Live-Streaming Trends report noted that total hours watched across all platforms reached 8.9B, marking an annual increase of 8.9%. Yet within this overall growth, esports-related streaming saw a decline by about 2.3%, as reported by NCS. 

Games like League of Legends and Grand Theft Auto V recorded a 3% and 6% decline, respectively, despite holding top spots. The decline of GTA V comes as a surprise, since the anticipation for GTA VI is extremely high.

This suggests that, while general gaming content remains active, competitive forms are losing some of their past traction. Consecutively, it also indicates that Facebook's decline in game streaming implies a transfer of audiences around the ecosystem rather than a decrease in live-streaming interest.

An Increasing Shift towards Non-Gaming Content

NCS also reported that non-gaming content increased by an annual rate of 25.6%, driven by platforms such as Kick, Chzzk, and SOOP Korea. Each of these platforms saw approximately 94% growth in non-gaming content viewership. SOOP Korea and Chzzk together accounted for 5.9% of the global live-streaming market. Chzzk alone recorded 238M hours watched in Q1 2025. 

With Reels and short-form content driving engagement growth globally and on Facebook, Meta's decision shows a shift in priority. Facebook is shifting its focus away from niche gaming support and towards general content monetisation tactics. The current gaming content creators could migrate to Twitch, YouTube, or other sites that have stronger live-streaming ecosystems.