Meta brings Pocket, an app that lets you vibe-code and share games, to US users
Meta is officially expanding the reach of its experimental "vibe-coding" platform, Pocket, bringing the AI-powered game creation tool to users across the United States. Following a successful, low-profile trial period in Brazil last month, the app is now ready for a wider audience to begin building and sharing interactive digital experiences.
From Gizmo to Pocket: The Evolution of Vibe-Coding
The foundation of Pocket stems from Meta’s strategic acquisition of the Gizmo team earlier this year. The platform allows users to leverage AI prompts to generate small, interactive games—referred to by the company as "gizmos." These creations are designed to be highly responsive, utilizing:
- Touch and Tilt: Games react to physical phone movements and screen interaction.
- Multimedia Integration: Users can incorporate sound effects, clips from their favorite songs, and personal photos or camera footage.
- Social Sharing: Once created, these games live on a scrollable feed where they can be saved, reposted, or remixed by other users.
Meta’s Aggressive AI-Driven Development
Pocket represents the latest milestone in Meta’s broader strategy to democratize AI-powered content creation. This initiative follows the company’s previous experiments with AI-generated imagery in the Meta AI app and the Vibes video creation tool.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has frequently highlighted that the company’s accelerated pace of innovation is a direct result of AI-enabled software development. During the July earnings call, Zuckerberg emphasized that these internal efficiencies allow Meta to test and ship new concepts with unprecedented speed.
"Earlier this year, we shipped Instagram Instants. We also just launched Forum, a stand-alone Groups app, and Seller, a stand-alone Marketplace app. I expect it to become a lot easier to ship new apps. So we are planning to build out more ideas and use our recommendation systems to scale them."
A New Chapter for the Gizmo Team
The launch of Pocket marks the sunset of the original Gizmo application. Josh Siegel, a key figure behind the project, shared his reflections on the transition via social media, noting the bittersweet nature of closing the original app while expressing enthusiasm for the future of the technology under the Meta umbrella.
As Meta continues to diversify its mobile ecosystem—ranging from AI-driven bedtime stories to the recently released Meta AI for Mac—Pocket stands as a testament to the company's commitment to building a suite of standalone applications powered by its advanced recommendation and generative AI systems. For users, it offers a unique, low-friction entry point into game design, turning simple prompts into shareable, interactive entertainment.