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TikTok is now testing in-app video games

Testing has started in Vietnam.

Tiktok app logo on phone screen
Image: Unsplash

TikTok is looking to leverage its platform to bring mobile games to its hundreds of millions of users. It looks like taking over the short-form video medium isn’t enough for the company as it looks to appeal to mobile gamers.

A report from Reuters late last week details how the company plans to bring games to TikTok. This is apparently something the company has been working on for a while. Preliminary testing has been available for users in Vietnam for some time now.

Of course, this isn’t the first major media company to shift into gaming territory recently. Netflix recently launched a bunch of games for Netflix subscribers, and the company plans on expanding its offerings in the future.

READ MORE: TikTok Avatars let you show the world the ‘real’ you

And TikTok looks like it will be following a similar strategy with games on its platform. All of the games that are added to the platform will likely have advertisements from the beginning. That’s how ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, plans to make money with video games on TikTok.

ByteDance will add its own games to TikTok to maximize profits. Additionally, the company will add games from other developers, like Zynga, and split the revenue earned from advertisements while users are playing the games.

Zynga has actually tried its hand at games on TikTok before. Disco Loco 3D was first revealed back in November 2021.

READ MORE: TikTok now lets you limit your own time on the app

A spokesperson told Reuters that TikTok plans to expand its gaming feature across Southeast Asia soon. That expansion could come as early as the third quarter of this year, with further expansion coming soon after.

Games could be a huge new revenue source for TikTok. The platform is already doing well on advertising revenue thanks to its hundreds of millions of concurrent users.

READ MORE: TikTok now shows you which topics it thinks you care about

But if the platform successfully adds mobile games that draw its users in, the potential for ad revenue will only go up.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Staff writer at KnowTechie. Alex has two years of experience covering all things technology, from video games to electric cars. He's a gamer at heart, with a passion for first-person shooters and expansive RPGs. Shoot him an email at alex@knowtechie.com

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