Will mobile gaming take TikTok to the next level?

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In just a few years, TikTok has exploded in popularity as one of the most widely used social media apps. With over 1 billion downloads and active users, the app is set to take social media by storm. The app’s popularity isn’t limited to today’s generation. Unlike other social networking apps which are used by teens, TikTok has a large user-base among all other generations. It was a top download on both Android and iOS platforms (Google Play, App Store) and has already exceeded the likes of Snapchat and Instagram.

The app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that recently announced it will begin developing mobile gaming software. ByteDance is looking to build on TikTok’s gaming elements to bring them to a global audience. According to a Reuters report, the company plans to launch games on TikTok in Vietnam by the end of the year. Chinese TikTok users have been able to play games on the app for some time now.

The report states that the games will be funded by advertising, with revenues shared with developers, and suggests a tie-in with ByteDance’s increasing involvement in gaming. This doesn’t mean that TikTok will start making games; after all, it has been doing it in its native market for years. The reason is that the organization behind it believes that games are one of the key ways it can engage and keep its significant player base on the platform.

The company has made games in the past, but this deeper foray into the industry is accompanied by more significant investment and a shift in the company’s strategy. ByteDance has always depended on advertisements to monetize its games. Still, this strategy has recently changed to include in-game cosmetics and benefits, much like other well-known free-to-play games like Fortnite.

ByteDance, best known in China for its short-form video app TikTok and its Douyin counterpart, has made a concerted effort to aggressively enter the mobile gaming market, which is currently dominated in China by Tencent and NetEase. ByteDance established an internal gaming business unit earlier this year. ByteDance made significant gaming acquisitions last year, helping to significantly advance its operations abroad by purchasing well-known games as part of the mergers.

The games that ByteDance purchased received the majority of player spending. According to Sensor Tower, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang from Moonton produced $317.7 million, or 32% of the yearly $1 billion total. Idle Heroine on C4 is close behind in second place.

Gaming could contribute to TikTok’s popularity

TikTok’s algorithm is tailored to a user’s preferences and behavior on the platform. This makes it one of the most engaging social platforms ever created. Gaming could provide TikTok with another data stream, giving the company insight into what its users like and what game design elements prove to be the most engaging.

TikTok already features informal contests, challenges, and other competitive elements nurtured organically by its user base. Like on YouTube and Twitch, gaming is one of the most popular categories on TikTok, with millions of videos related to video games posted every month. Capitalizing on an established audience by serving them with games is a good way to attract and retain customers.

According to market research firm Newzoo, Mobile gaming has already become the largest and most profitable market segment of the global video games business. It is on track to reach $100 billion in revenue. Moreover, this will make mobile gaming almost twice as large as the console gaming market.

TikTok may move to games as a source of income by inserting advertisements into game titles and, if it keeps distributing games online, incorporating in-app purchases. Although Facebook ran into issues with that strategy last year, TikTok might avoid paying Apple 30% of in-app purchase income by depending on online gaming.

Compared to Netflix and other services, TikTok offers several advantages

Netflix has treated games as a subscriber benefit rather than an integrated part of its service. TikTok, on the other hand, can try out more ambitious projects thanks to its large, engaged user base and creator tools. According to Watchful, an Israeli analytics company, TikTok is experimenting with mini-games embedded into live streams.

Watchful – an analytical firm-l further says that developers might use technology similar to that used on Facebook Live and Twitch to broadcast a live game to viewers while also including the crowd. TikTok declined to comment on the live game embedded in a video tests, but it has discovered a Pictionary-style game called Draw & Guess.

ByteDance, which established a dedicated gaming division called Nuverse in 2019 to oversee acquisitions and original game creation, acquired the mobile game company Moonton – the company behind the mobile online combat arena game Mobile Legends, inspired by League of Legends. This indicates that TikTok may not just provide mini-games but is looking for some bigger games as well.

Niko Partners, an analysis company, stated that ByteDance has pursued a worldwide strategy for its video gaming business from the outset. The biggest obstacle for ByteDance will be producing a self-developed hit that it can sustain over an extended period.

Final thoughts

With TikTok’s new video game platform, the app will reach a wider demographic that includes millennials and adults who have been loyal users of other big names in gaming and social media platforms.

With the number of active Vietnamese users steadily growing and the company’s plan to launch games in Vietnam, we can expect to see a surge in the popularity of TikTok. Earlier, it managed to carve out a niche as a video app in a crowded market. If it can continue its success with games, there’s no doubt it will be here for the long haul. Finally, whether TikTok succeeds remains to be seen, but its certainly taking the right steps to make itself appealing to both developers and users alike.