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TikTok eyeing deeper gaming integration, with tests starting in Vietnam

The video-sharing app hopes to see users playing games on its platform

TikTok is planning a major push into the gaming space. The China-based, ByteDance-owned company hopes to see users actively playing games on its platform. The company has begun testing this feature in Vietnam, according to those familiar with the matter.

According to reports, TikTok is looking to bring HTML5 games to the app, forming third-party relationships with studios such as Zynga Inc. A TikTok representative that spoke to Reuters declined to touch on the broader vision TikTok has for its gaming initiative.

“We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community,” the representative said.

It’s said that featuring games on its platform would increase TikTok’s advertising revenue and overall user engagement.

Vietnam is being used as a test market for the gaming initiative as it’s said to be a strong tech-savvy region, with 70 percent of its population under the age of 35. Vietnam is just the first stage of its testing phases. Reports claim that as early as Q3, TikTok will begin rolling out gaming to more regions in Southeast Asia.

Currently, there is no word on when or if TikTok’s push into gaming will hit Canada. However, TikTok does offer some gaming features that integrate well into the platform. As part of its livestreaming features, players can stream games on the app. Not every game is available to stream. Quite commonly, TikTok creators live stream Call of Duty: Warzone as one of the tentpoles available in North America.

TikTok broadening its support of the gaming industry is invigorating. Certainly, creators are going to find new ways to integrate gaming content into their feeds. TikTok double-downing and bringing games to the platform is just making the process more streamlined. However, TikTok may have to expand beyond HTML5 and mobile-centric games to bring in mass adoption.

Source: Reuters

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