Meta quietly launches Pocket app that lets users create AI-powered mini games

MUMBAI: Meta is putting a new spin on “gaming on the go”. The tech giant has quietly rolled out Pocket, an experimental AI-powered app that lets users create interactive mini games and digital experiences simply by describing what they want in plain English, without writing a single line of code.

Soft-launched on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store without an official announcement, Pocket marks Meta’s latest push into generative AI. The app combines AI-powered creation tools with a social discovery feed, allowing users to build, play, remix and share bite-sized interactive experiences known as “Gizmos”. The rollout is currently limited, with the app unavailable in several markets as Meta continues testing the platform.

At its core, Pocket is designed around what many developers now call “vibe coding”. Instead of programming, users simply type a description of the game or experience they want to create. A prompt such as “a physics puzzle where you tilt the phone to drop glowing balls into matching cups” is enough for the AI to generate a playable experience within seconds. Users can then continue refining the creation through an AI editor until it behaves as intended.

Pocket also allows creators to personalise their projects by importing photos from their camera roll as textures, backgrounds or visual assets. The result is a platform that lowers the barrier to game creation, making interactive design accessible even to people with no coding experience.

The AI-generated creations, called “Gizmos”, go well beyond simple text adventures. They can respond to taps, swipes and gestures, react to the phone’s movement through tilt and motion sensors, play music and sound effects, access the device’s camera and photo library, and in some cases even use AI reasoning to adapt gameplay or interactions dynamically. Early users have already begun creating everything from puzzle games and soundboards to interactive selfie cameras and augmented reality-style filters.

Pocket is equally focused on social discovery. The app includes a vertically scrolling feed where users can browse and instantly play Gizmos created by others. Favourite creations can be organised into themed playlists, while a Remix feature allows users to take another creator’s Gizmo, modify the prompt or replace visual assets, and publish their own version if remixing has been enabled. Meta also allows creations to be shared through web links, enabling anyone to play them directly in a browser without installing the app.

The platform builds on technology developed by Atma Sciences, whose popular AI game creation app Gizmo attracted hundreds of thousands of users before Meta acquired its engineering team and licensed the underlying technology earlier this year. Pocket closely mirrors Gizmo’s capabilities, and even retains the Android package name “com.facebook.gizmo”, highlighting its origins.

The app was first spotted by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, while app intelligence firm Appfigures reported that Pocket first appeared on app stores on June 29. Meta has yet to formally announce the launch or provide details about its wider rollout strategy.

Pocket joins Meta’s expanding family of standalone AI products, following launches such as its Meta AI assistant, AI video app Vibes and AI-powered creator tools across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The latest addition suggests the company is broadening its AI ambitions beyond images and video into interactive entertainment and user-generated experiences.

For now, availability remains limited. Meta says Pocket is “not yet available everywhere”, with access restricted in markets including the US and several other regions as the company evaluates server performance and content moderation systems. Those who can download the app can sign in with an existing Meta account and begin creating AI-powered Gizmos immediately.