Facebook redesigns iPad app to better promote games

Facebook announced today that it has added a dedicated game list and a game recommendation engine to the Facebook iPad app in an effort to boost a developer's ability to attract players and keep them playing. The (relatively small) "My Games" list and "Popular Games" recommendation engine are part of a larger module that appears on the right-hand side of the iPad app when a user rotates their tablet to landscape mode. The module displays tailored lists of trending news, videos and games -- the three things that Facebook claims tablet app users interact with most. The company claims that over 70 percent of people worldwide who use Facebook's iPad app have used it to play a Facebook-connected game in the past 90 days, and the company hopes that a permanent "My Games" list will keep those people playing by putting game notifications on the front page. The update is rolling out to Facebook iPad apps worldwide starting today, and the company claims that it will allow game developers to run ads in the new module at some point down the line. For now, you can make your game eligible to be featured in the module by registering it with Facebook and hooking it up to the Facebook Login system (if it's not already a Canvas app). You also need to upload a promo video to your App Details page -- the "Popular Games" module appears designed to only promote games via video clips.