TikTok is at last ready to join its social media cohorts Facebook and Snapchat in offering baked-in video games, and is apparently piloting its new program with a handful of developers already.
As reported by TechCrunch, TikTok has partnered with developers such as Voodoo, Nitro Games, FRVR, Aim Lab, and Lotem to make games built into TikTok – HTML5 minigames that users can play within the app and discover through videos they're watching. Think hypercasual mobile games – don't expect to be playing God of War as you browse cooking fail videos.
As the feature rolls out, creators will be able to find an option to link videos to a minigame on the screen before they publish a new video, where they add hashtags, links, descriptions, and other information. Viewers are then able to click through the video to the game. The feature is currently in the process of being soft launched across different global markets and is not yet available everywhere.
The available games at launch are as follows:
- Basketball FRVR (FRVR)
- Tap the Difference (Lotem)
- Peek a Who (Nitro)
- Pride Run (Voodoo)
- Influencer Run (Voodoo)
- Space Destroyer (Nitro)
- Mr. Aim Lab's Nightmare (Aim Lab)
Currently, none of the games are monetized, and the initiative currently appears solely to gauge the taste of TikTok for such games, though that could always change.
TikTok initially began its gaming foray with the introduction of Disco Loco 3D, an endless runner created in collaboration with Zynga where players collect dance moves and challenge their friends. It's far from the first tech and social platform to make such a jump. Facebook has repeatedly revised its own take on a gaming section over the years, most recently with its move into cloud gaming and its Facebook Gaming web and Android app. Snapchat has similarly been working on in-app games with its Snap Games label for a few years now. And even Netflix has begun rolling its own games service, with plans to have nearly 50 games available by the end of this year.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.