New York, Aug 19 (IANS): Social media giant Facebook is working with game engine Unity to build a dedicated, downloadable Steam-style desktop gaming platform.

Steam is a digital distribution platform developed by Valve Corporation that offers multiplayer gaming and social networking services.

Facebook's enhanced web and new PC platform will allow it to compete with Steam's marketplace.

While Steam has over 125 million monthly users, Facebook could attract developers with its massive user count.

“Integrating tools that provide effortless access to Facebook's network is a key part of helping developers find the success they deserve,” tech website Techcrunch.com quoted Elliot Solomon,Vice President, Business Development, Unity Technologies, as saying.

Starting Friday, game developers can apply until August 31 for instant access to a limited alpha version of Unity 5.4 that will allow them to build and export games to Facebook's website and desktop app.

The gaming platform will allow publishers to offer their iOS and Android games on desktop in addition to the casual games Facebook is known for.

Facebook has 650 million users who play games each month. The company paid out over $8 billion to game developers since 2010 and $2.5 billion in 2015 alone, the report noted.