TikTok reportedly plans a major push into gaming

Reuters reports that TikTok is running tests so that users can play games on its video-sharing app in Vietnam, as part of its plans for a “major push into gaming”.

According to the people familiar with the matter, ByteDance-owned company also plans to roll out gaming more widely in Southeast Asia. That move could come as early as the third quarter, said two of them.

A TikTok representative told Reuters that the company is testing bringing HTML5 games, a common type of minigame, to its app through connections with third-party game developers and studios like Zynga. But it didn’t comment on his Vietnam plans or broader gaming ambitions.

In November last year, Zynga and TikTok had teamed up for a new music and dance challenge game called Disco Loco 3D, which is exclusively for TikTok. 

“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 in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Two sources said TikTok plans to draw primarily on ByteDance’s suite of games. While the company will start with minigames, its gaming ambitions extend beyond that, said one of the people who had direct knowledge of the matter.

Inclusion of games on its platform will increase the time users spend in the app, which is one of the most popular apps in the world with more than 1 billion monthly active users, as well as advertising revenues.

According to Sensor Tower, in Q1 2022, TikTok generated $821 million in global consumer spending across the App Store and Google Play.