TikTok reportedly planning to introduce gaming to the platform

It’s been reported that TikTok is planning a “major push” into the world of gaming, with tests already underway in Vietnam.

As it stands, the video-sharing platform already hosts a handful of games in North America, including Zynga‘s music and dance challenge title Disco Loco 3D and Garden Of Good, where players grow vegetables to trigger donations by TikTok to the non-profit Feeding America.

But according to Reuters, TikTok is looking to expand its offering in a bid to increase profits.

According to four sources, the platform has already been conducting tests so users can play games on its video-sharing app in Vietnam as part of plans for a major push into gaming.

TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, also plans to roll out gaming more widely in Southeast Asia with that move potentially coming as early as the third quarter of 2022.

A TikTok representative told Reuters that the company has already tested bringing HTML5 games to its app through tie-ups with third-party game developers and studios such as Zynga but it declined to comment on its plans for Vietnam or its broader gaming ambitions.

“We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community,” said a TikTok representative via email.

According to sources, TikTok plans to draw primarily on owner ByteDance’s suite of games to begin with but has bigger “gaming ambitions” as well.

Users of ByteDance’s Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, have been able to play games on the platform since 2019.

In other news, the upcoming rhythm-based first-person shooter Metal: Hellsinger will feature an original track from System Of A Down’s lead singer Serj Tankian.

“I’m not big on gaming, but this intense trailer has got me excited to play,” he wrote on social media.