Instant Games

Cross Platform

Updated: Mar 3, 2026
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ARCHIVED -- Cross-platform development guidance documented here has been archived.

What was cross-platform development?

Cross-platform development for Facebook games referred to the practice of building games that could work across multiple surfaces and form factors within the Facebook ecosystem, including:
  • Facebook desktop web (facebook.com in a desktop browser)
  • Facebook mobile web (facebook.com in a mobile browser)
  • Facebook mobile apps (the Facebook app for iOS and Android)
  • Messenger (the Messenger app for iOS and Android)
  • Other platforms (native mobile apps, third-party platforms)
The goal was to allow developers to reach players wherever they were, with a consistent experience, while adapting to the unique capabilities and constraints of each platform.

Historical context

Early cross-platform challenges

In the early days of Facebook gaming, developers faced significant challenges building cross-platform experiences:
  • Canvas Games were designed primarily for desktop web browsers and did not work well on mobile devices.
  • Mobile Canvas was introduced as a bridge, allowing Canvas Games to run in the Facebook mobile app, but the experience was often suboptimal due to the iframe-based architecture.
  • Native mobile apps required entirely separate codebases and distribution through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, with different login flows, payment systems, and social integrations.

The Instant Games solution

Instant Games addressed many cross-platform challenges by design:
  • HTML5-based: Instant Games are built with web technologies (HTML5, JavaScript, CSS) that run natively in both desktop and mobile browsers.
  • Embedded in Facebook and Messenger: Instant Games launch directly within the Facebook app and Messenger on both iOS and Android, as well as on desktop web. Players do not need to install anything.
  • Single codebase: Developers write one game that runs across all supported surfaces. The Instant Games SDK handles platform-specific differences.
  • Responsive design: Games can adapt their layout and controls to different screen sizes and input methods (touch vs. mouse/keyboard).

Cross-platform identity and data

Cross-platform development also involved ensuring player identity and data consistency:
  • Player identity: A player should be recognized as the same person regardless of which platform they use. The Instant Games SDK provides a consistent player ID across surfaces.
  • Game state: Player progress and purchases should be accessible on any platform. Developers typically achieve this through server-side storage.
  • Social graph: Friends and social features should work consistently across platforms, which the Instant Games SDK supports.

Key considerations for cross-platform games

While much of this guidance has been superseded by the Instant Games platform, the following principles remain relevant for developers thinking about cross-platform game design:

Input handling

  • Touch vs. mouse: Mobile players use touch controls, while desktop players use a mouse and keyboard. Design your game’s controls to work with both input methods, or provide separate control schemes.
  • Screen size: Mobile screens are significantly smaller than desktop monitors. Ensure that UI elements (buttons, text, game objects) are appropriately sized for all screen sizes.
  • Orientation: Consider whether your game works best in portrait or landscape mode, and how it behaves when the device is rotated.

Performance

  • Device diversity: Mobile devices range from low-end to high-end. Optimize your game to perform well on lower-powered devices to maximize your reach.
  • Network conditions: Mobile players may be on slow or unreliable connections. Minimize the data your game needs to download and handle network interruptions gracefully.
  • Memory and battery: Mobile devices have limited memory and battery life. Efficient resource management is critical.

Platform-specific features

  • Notifications: The notification systems on mobile and desktop work differently. Use the Instant Games SDK’s built-in notification features rather than building your own.
  • Sharing: Share dialogs may look and behave differently across platforms. Test sharing flows on each platform to ensure they work correctly.
  • Audio: Mobile browsers have restrictions on audio autoplay. Always trigger audio in response to a user interaction.

Current state

Today, the Instant Games platform is the primary way to build games on Facebook, and it inherently supports cross-platform play:
  • A single Instant Game build runs on Facebook (desktop and mobile), Messenger, and other supported surfaces.
  • The Instant Games SDK abstracts platform differences, so developers rarely need to write platform-specific code.
  • For developers who also want to offer native mobile or PC versions of their game, server-side account systems can be used to synchronize player data across builds.
The dedicated “Cross Platform” product and documentation have been archived because cross-platform support is now a built-in feature of the Instant Games platform rather than a separate offering.