Social media giant TikTok has begun pilot testing games for its app with the help of some of the most innovative developers in mobile gaming.
Mobile games offer an additional revenue stream for TikTok through advertising. TikTok has more than 1 billion monthly active users, making it one of the most popular apps in the world.
- TikTok has partnered with game developers Voodoo, Nitro Games, Aim Lab, and others.
- The teams have developed a series of “mini-games.”
- Games on the platform allow users to circumvent the App Store and Google Play.
- Successful launches could hinder potential gaming revenue for Google and Apple.
The mobile games are the result of the major push into the $198.4 billion gaming market TikTok announced in May. At the time, TikTok had begun testing mobile games on its platform for users in Vietnam. However, the app had first started experimenting with games in 2021 in a deal with gaming giant Zynga.
Zynga launched “Disco Loco 3D,” an HTML5-based game exclusively on TikTok last November.
Change of Plans
The tests arrive amid a reorganization strategy by parent company ByteDance. The Beijing-based company is also considering selling a minority stake in Poizon, an online fashion marketplace for sneakers and apparel, according to Bloomberg.
ByteDance is looking to offload a stake in Poizon, which has roughly 100 million monthly active users, as it downsizes business operations — particularly its investment arm and VC team.
