Facebook experiments with a new way to advertise mobile games

Some Facebook mobile users have started noticing a new sort of ad infiltrating their notifications tab: advertisements for recommended Facebook games, based on the user's game history. As reported in AllThingsD, the ads are unusual largely due to their placement within the notifications feed, as opposed to the conventional news tab. "This is part of a small mobile distribution test we're running for game developers," a Facebook spokesperson tells AllThingsD. The A/B test will be visible only to some mobile users and, then, only if they've played games. The spokesperson said that the test was part of Facebook's attempt at exploring "new channels to promote games." It remains to be seen whether Facebook will roll out the new model for all users. However, this can be seen as part of Facebook's recent overtures toward mobile developers, a means by which to recover lost ground since both Zynga and Electronic Arts started putting distance between themselves and the social network.