TikTok plans push into gaming, to pilot in Vietnam

ByteDance-owned social media platform TikTok is planning to pilot a gaming feature on its app, in a bid to boost engagement among its billion monthly active users.

TikTok has chosen Vietnam as the testing ground for this new feature.

First reported by Reuters, Vietnam was chosen due to the country's highly tech-savvy population, with over 70 percent of citizens under 35 years of age. The country has been a common testing ground for companies such as ByteDance, Facebook, and YouTube among others.

TikTok will test HTML5 games on the platform, which is a common form of mini-games. The initial run will be done through tie-ups with mobile gaming companies such as Zynga. According to reports, the company plans to focus on expanding its selection from the ByteDance suite of games.

A company representative reportedly told Reuters, "We're always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community."

The company is reportedly planning to bring this feature to multiple other countries in Southeast Asia this year, perhaps even as early as Q3. It is possible for users in other regions to watch streams of these games, but it is unclear when they plan to roll out gaming for all users worldwide.

Users of ByteDance's Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, have had access to games since 2019.