TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been conducting tests on video games in Vietnam. The objective: keep young users engaged.
According to a report from Reuters, four sources confirmed that TikTok has been testing in-platform video games among users under the age of 35, specifically in Vietnam.
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The company explained that it will start small, testing only with minigames with simpler gaming mechanics and short game times. During the test in Vietnam, the games will also be very mild in nature as the country has a zero-tolerance policy on games that contain drugs, gambling, or sexual content.
It also has been reported that TikTok will insert ads within the games, adding a new source of ad revenue to its offering.
Digital Trends noted that this isn’t the first time TikTok has tried giving games to its users. In the past, the platform has carried some HTML5 games, including last year’s Disco Loco 3D by Zynga, an endless runner that involves players collecting dance moves while challenging their friends and followers on the platform, and Garden of Good, where every vegetable players grow turns into donations to Feeding America. There’s no way to find those games and others on TikTok in the U.S., but Vietnam is getting a sneak preview on how to access them within the app.
TikTok is planning to roll out its games to larger parts of Southeast Asia sometime in the third quarter of 2022. It’s unknown if they’ll be rolled out to TikTok users outside that region.