HONG KONG: TikTok has been testing games on its video-sharing app in Vietnam as part of preparations for a large gaming push, four individuals familiar with the subject have said.
There have been tests in Vietnam as part of TikTok’s massive push into gaming.
With over 1 billion monthly active users, adding games to its platform would increase both its ad income and the number of time consumers spend on it.
With 70% of its population under the age of 35, it has a tech-savvy populace. TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and Google, all owned and Meta Platforms Inc. (FB.O), are all popular in Vietnam.
Those familiar with the matter said that TikTok, owned by China’s Byte Dance, also has intentions to expand gaming in the region. There’s a chance it happens in the third quarter, if not sooner.
As the information has not yet been made public, the sources refused to be named.
Through collaborations with game developers and studios like Zynga Inc., TikTok has experimented with introducing HTML5 games, a typical sort of minigame, to its app (ZNGA.O). Asked about its intentions for Vietnam or larger gaming aspirations, the company refused to say anything else.
Adding new features and integrations that benefit our community is something we do on a daily basis, according to our spokesperson.
It was not possible for Reuters to find out whether TikTok intends to provide gaming capabilities in further markets. Users can watch games being streamed, but they can’t really play them inside the TikTok app themselves.
Zynga’s “Disco Loco 3D,” a music and dance challenge game, and TikTok’s “Garden of Good,” in which players cultivate vegetables to trigger contributions to the non-profit Feeding America, seem to be the only games published here in the US.
Two reports claim that TikTok intends to rely heavily on Byte Dance’s library of games.
One of the persons who had firsthand knowledge of the topic indicated that the company’s gaming goals go beyond minigames, which tend to have simplistic gameplay algorithms and a short playing duration.
Vietnam’s government restricts games portraying gambling, violence, and sexual material, thus TikTok will need a license to offer games on its platform. The procedure is likely to go well, according to the source who spoke to us.
Requests for response from the Vietnamese ministries of foreign affairs and communication went unanswered.
The Chinese TikTok equivalent, Byte Dance’s Douyin, has allowed users to play games since 2019.
An unnamed insider indicated that Byte Dance and the game creators will divide the money from TikTok’s games from the outset.
Like other large digital companies, TikTok has entered the gaming market in an attempt to retain customers. Instant Games were introduced by Facebook in 2016 and Netflix just added games to their platform.
ByteDance’s current attempt to position itself as a big player in gaming is also marked by the release of this game. China’s largest gaming company Tencent (700.HK) is now in direct rivalry with Moonton Technology, a Shanghai-based game studio.
TikTok’s advertising income has risen even without games. Per research firm Insider Intelligence, the company’s ad revenue would likely treble this year to more than $11 billion, surpassing the combined revenues of rivals Twitter Inc and Snap Inc.
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