New Facebook rules aim to force developers back onto the social network

Facebook isn't happy that some game developers are launching titles outside of the social network with Facebook's social integration options built in -- so much so, that it has launched two new policies that aim to bring them back. Up to this point, video game studios were able to access Facebook's open graph on other platforms, meaning that once a player had logged in to another website using their Facebook details, the developer could then access details about them in-game, such as their friend list. From today, that's no longer the case. Developers are now prohibited from accessing the open graph outside of Facebook, essentially forcing them to build their games on the social platform if they want access to these features, reports AllThingsDigital. On top of this, Facebook is also removing certain options that allowed studios to drive traffic from the social network to external websites. For example, it used to be the case that you could force a player to visit another website via an invitation from a friend. Facebook has now removed the ability to drive players to your website from such links. Note that these new provisions apply solely to games -- apps such as TripAdvisor and Wrapp can still access your Facebook credentials outside of the social network. One of the biggest companies hit by these new rules is Zynga, given that the Zynga.com platform pulls lots of user information from Facebook to display on its own website. Facebook noted that it has given Zynga more time to prepare for the changes "in order to ensure a smooth transition." This move separates the two companies even further, following a filing last week that revealed Zynga is losing a number of its Facebook perks.