Facebook teases phone-powered AR game platform for later this year

Speaking at the F8 Facebook developer conference keynote earlier today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that Facebook’s recent move to include camera tools into its suite of mobile apps was, in part, to pave the way for launching a full augmented reality platform for mobile phones.

While Zuckerberg demonstrated some potential uses for phone-powered AR, he did stop to mention that Facebook is looking at bringing mobile games to this platform later this year.

Beyond that, not much information was offered about the augmented reality games front aside from a short video demonstrating how a cell phone could be used to place a tower defense game on a coffee table, though more details are likely to emerge in the future.

Developers interested in seeing how the company is planning on using AR to create 3D environments from 2D images and place virtual objects in a real-time landscape can find the full keynote on Facebook. And for another look at Facebook's game developer-focused projects, take a look at this conversation with the company's director of global games partnerships Leo Olebe about how Facebook's new game initiatives benefit developers.