One of TikTok’s first forays into games has surfaced after months of rumors. Now available within the service are HTML5-based mini-games for users in a number of nations. The most recent service, initially not in the gaming space, is TikTok.
Users of TikTok in some nations, such as the US, can now upload videos with links to a limited number of HTML5-based minigames. The new function is a test to see if gaming might become the platform’s next big engagement driver.
Users will discover “MiniGame” as an option under “Add link” in the last steps before submitting a TikTok video. They have the choice to add one of seven quick games from FRVR, Lotum, Nitro, Voodoo, and Aim Lab to their film. When a viewer comes across the video, they can press the link to launch the TikTok app and begin watching. In one of the games, for instance, you must compare two images that appear to be
identical before you may tap on where they vary.
Disco Loco will be developed in collaboration with Zynga, TikTok revealed in November. In May, there were reports that TikTok was testing HTML5 games in Southeast Asian nations. The company never formally disclosed the project, but last Thursday it comfirmed the existence of the games to TechCrunch, emphasizing that they had been in an early testing stage in a number of nations for at least a few weeks.
The action is probably yet another acknowledgment that different media types, such as video games, streaming video, social media, and others, compete with one another for consumers’ attention. In 2019, Netflix acknowledged that Fortnite is a serious rival, and it has subsequently added games to its subscription service. TikTok wants to know how game play affects consumers’ platform usage.
Netflix’s strategy, which differs from HTML5, enables members to download a variety of mobile games from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, making it a stronger rival to Apple Arcade. The mobile gaming endeavors from TikTok and Netflix stand in contrast to those from Facebook and Microsoft, which Apple infamously blocked.
Microsoft and Facebook blasted Apple in 2020 for approving Netflix while denying their cloud gaming apps access to TV and movie streaming services. Through the use of a browser-accessible web page, Microsoft got around this. The issue was avoided by Netflix’s game subscription by providing mobile games through the App Store in accordance with Apple’s regulations. These guidelines don’t appear to apply to the HTML5 mini-games on TikTok.
