Applifier, which runs a mobile-social gaming network where players can share video playbacks of their virtual feats, is pulling FaceCam, a product using the front-facing camera, out of beta.
FaceCam records a person’s gameplay and their facial expressions while they’re playing from the front-facing camera. It sometimes can look a bit awkward (see here) or hilarious, but for some gamers, it’s the most vivid way to share how twitchy a game can be. The Helsinki and San Francisco-based startup incorporated FaceCam into games like NimbleBit’s Nimble Quest and Angry Birds-maker Rovio’s Bad Piggies in the beta.
The company says it’s seeing about two minutes of gameplay video shared every minute, with the volume of time growing 750 percent compared to the first quarter of this year. Month-over-month, the company says, the number of minutes shared has grown by more than 25 percent.
They didn’t disclose the raw number of videos shared, however. With improvement in data connections, we’re seeing mobile app makers — both in the general consumer space and in gaming — adopt more video features. On the general consumer side, Twitter’s Vine took off on the free charts and accumulated 13 million users as of a few weeks ago, while Instagram launched video last week.
In gaming, both the major consoles, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, announced built-in video sharing while Twitch, which stream live match-ups for video gamers, reports 35 million unique viewers a month who watch about 1.5 hours of video play each day on average.
Applifier, with its network Everyplay, is looking to replicate that video-sharing experience on mobile platforms. The company has a longstanding network for cross-promoting social games on Facebook, and pivoted (like much of the rest of the industry) to mobile platforms over the last year.
Last year, they launched a beta for sharing mobile gaming replays. Then they added front-facing camera options after closing a $4 million second venture round led by Finland’s Lifeline Ventures. They are also backed by MHS Capital, PROfounders Capital, Tekes and Webb Investment Network.