TikTok is quietly testing instant games in the UK, we can confirm.
We’ve found 14 instantly playable games so far from developers including FRVR, Voodoo, Playable Factory, Matchingham Games and more.
They are currently being served within the For You feed, and are playable through a tappable box above the TikTok user’s name.
There’s no download required, and many prompt the player to record gameplay and share it. None of them are monetised, though some have in-game shops and retry prompts that suggest IAPs and incentivised ads are coming.
@louiefrvr Play Kitten Force on TikTok #minigames #kitten #spacekitten #frvrgames ♬ original sound – samtestaccount
Studios making these early HTML5-based TikTok games include FRVR, Nitro, Voodoo, Aim Lab, Matchingham Games, Lotum, Famobi, Phantom Bird Studio, Playable Factory, Gamelancer and Gismart.
Zynga’s Disco Loco 3D and Garden of Good were part of an earlier test, but don’t appear to be live in the current round of testing.
A TikTok spokesperson sent us this statement about its games strategy: “We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community. Currently, we’re exploring bringing HTML5 games to TikTok through integrations with third party game developers and studios.”
TikTok has been testing in-feed games in markets like Vietnam for months, and the FT has previously reported that the social media giant is preparing to launch a dedicated games tab, which would feature “mobile games where ads can be served and users can pay for additional content.”
The 14 games currently playable in the UK are listed below, with links where available. One account, @play_mini_games, has helpfully collected many (but not all) of them together on its profile, so give it a follow and flick through their previous TikToks to find them all.
Barricade Yourself Inside (Voodoo)
This involves moving furniture to block gaps so that rats, crabs and other creepy crawlies don’t invade your home. Succeed, and your character gets airlifted to safety.
Basketball (FRVR)
A simple high score basketball game. Upgrades are available in the form of new ball types.
Beauty Salon (Playable Factory)
A horrible makeover game where you wax a customer’s hairy feet and clip their gruesome toenails.
Color Galaxy (Gismart)
Colour-in the arena by driving around to claim turf and eliminate other players by driving over their tracks. This one has end-of-level revives, but the currency is greyed out. There is an in-game shop too, but it doesn’t appear to support actual purchases right now.
Couple Challenge (Matchingham Games)
A very strange and kind of sexist selection of cartoony sketches involving couples in ‘amusing’ situations.
Fortune Teller (Gamelancer)
A basic randomised fortune teller with a fun prediction at the end.
Influencer Run (Voodoo)
A runner where you collect tokens to increase the generic influencer character’s clout, graduating from #nobody to #trending.
Kitten Force (FRVR)
Easily the best of the bunch, a basic space shooter with power-ups, fun pixel art and not-horrendous music.
Love Tester (Famobi)
Enter your name and character and watch a little ‘love test’ type scene play out.
Mr. Aim Lab’s Nightmare (State Space Labs)
A strange shooter of sorts where you tap the screen to pop the randomised objects flying at the camera.
Peek a Who (Nitro)
Decide whether or not to let someone into your party based on their appearance. Horrible visuals.
Pride Run (Voodoo)
Simple runner with a colour matching mechanic.
Space Destroyer (Nitro Games)
A very simple top-down collecting game.
Tap the Difference (Lotum)
Simple spot the difference puzzles, using AI-generated imagery.
TikTok has become a hit-maker and essential tool for mobile game marketers in the last year.
Survivor.io maker Hobby has found huge success through the social media platform, and TikTok trends have produced several viral hits in recent months, including Bacon: the Game and Dumb Ways to Die.
