TikTok wants to become a game platform
TikTok wants to enter the game business and is testing the integration of games in Vietnam.
With over one billion active users per month, TikTok is one of the most popular platforms in the world. Now ByteDance, the Chinese company behind the social media app, wants to conquer the gaming sector. Initial tests are already underway. For example, TikTok users in Vietnam can play games on the platform, according to Reuters news service.
TikTok confirmed to Reuters that tests with HTML5 games are underway. Rumors that the feature will be rolled out to other regions in Southeast Asia in the third quarter of 2022, however, were not commented on. The first mini-games have also surfaced in the US. These include "Disco Loco 3D," a music dancing game, and "Garden of Good," which involves planting vegetables to trigger donations for the NGO Feeding America. According to Reuters, TikTok will primarily draw from ByteDance's game portfolio.
Techcrunch also reports that there will be the option to play along with streamers.
Games can be played in Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, since 2019. The global version supports livestreams in the style of the game platform Twitch. The feature is used briskly, as is the sharing of game clips. Experts expect TikTok's revenue to triple to eleven billion U.S. dollars in 2022. As the world's most popular medium, games are the logical next step on this path to growth.
Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.