Meta Launches Pocket, an AI-Powered Gaming App, Across the US

Meta has quietly expanded its experimental AI gaming app, Pocket, to all users in the United States. The app, which was previously tested in Brazil over the last month, allows users to create small interactive games using AI prompts, according to TechCrunch. This launch marks a significant step in Meta’s broader initiative to leverage AI-assisted software development for faster testing and release of new applications.

In Pocket, games appear in a scrollable feed within the app, and these creations, referred to as ‘gizmos’, respond to touch and phone movements and can play sound effects. Users can enhance their gizmos by including clips of their favorite songs, adding photos from their camera roll, or using their phone’s camera directly within the app. The interactive nature of these games offers a novel way for users to engage with AI-generated content.

Games created in Pocket can be shared on a user’s profile, where others can save, remix, or repost them. This social sharing feature is designed to foster a community of creators and encourage the spread of user-generated interactive experiences.

The development of Pocket follows Meta’s acquisition of the team behind the vibe-coding gaming platform Gizmo earlier this year. This acquisition is part of Meta’s broader initiative to leverage AI-assisted software development for faster testing and release of new applications. During the company’s July earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, stated that AI would facilitate the release of new apps and enable testing of more ideas.

In recent months, Meta has also launched several other new applications, including Instagram Instants, Forum, a standalone Groups app, and Seller, a standalone Marketplace app. The company has also tested AI bedtime stories and introduced a Meta AI app for Mac this week. The increasing number of new applications suggests that more experimental products are coming, as Meta continues to rely on AI to expedite software development.