TikTok reportedly conducted tests allowing users to play games

TikTok has been running tests so users can play games on its video-sharing app in Vietnam, as part of plans for a major push in gaming, four people familiar with the matter said.

Offering games on its platform would increase ad revenue as well as the time users spend on the app, one of the most popular in the world with more than a billion monthly active users.

Boasting a tech-savvy population with 70% of its citizens under the age of 35, Vietnam is an attractive market for social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta Platforms’ Facebook, and Alphabet’s YouTube and Google.

TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, plans to roll out the game more widely in Southeast Asia, the people said. This decision could come as early as the third quarter, said two of them.

The sources declined to be identified as the information has not yet been made public.

A TikTok representative said the company had been testing integrating HTML5 games, a common form of mini-game, into its app through ties with third-party game developers and studios such as Zynga, but declined to comment. his plans for Vietnam or his wider games. ambitions.

“We are always looking for ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community,” the representative said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

ByteDance did not respond to a request for comment.

Reuters was unable to learn of TikTok’s plans to roll out gaming features in other markets. Although TikTok users can stream games, in most regions they cannot play games in the TikTok app. In the US, only a few games seem to be available.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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