Impending TikTok ban could have big impact on gaming creators and developers
By Brian Allen
The lifespan of social media is not unlike that of nightclubs. One day they're the hottest thing, everybody wants to be there. Then one day, suddenly, it's like "You're still using MySpace, lol?" But thanks to TikTok's ongoing battle with the United States government, a viable social media platform may just vanish in America. A wealth of content in the gaming space may be inaccessible in the US as soon as Sunday.
In April 2024, Congress passed a bill requiring TikTok to be sold or banned in the US, citing security concerns. The Supreme Court does not seem poised to intervene.
According to TikTok, 50 percent of daily users on TikTok watched gaming-related content in 2022, generating more than 3 trillion views. 36 percent of the people who viewed a game on the platform decided to purchase it.
TikTok parent company Bytedance capitalized on this with the "TikTok Made Me Play It" event, an evolution of the popular TikTok Made Me Buy It Trend.
"Our mission at TikTok is to empower game developers to unlock the full potential of their games within our vibrant communities," Assaf Sagy, Head of Global Gaming Business Solutions at TikTok said in 2023 as TikTok touted partnerships with developers.
"We've found that the fundamental pillars of forging strong gaming communities are discovery, cultural relevance, and amplification. We've harnessed these principles and crafted purposeful tools that equip publishers with the means to transform their games into cultural phenomena on TikTok."
Deep Silver had a very ambitious TikTok campaign for the relaunch of its popular Saints Row franchise. It worked with creators including Josh and Archie and Yiannimize, doing stunts such as jumping out of planes and recreating a Saints Row car IRL. It used #BeYourOwnBoss to promote the character customization features and helped the game reach a million players in its first three months.
Now, the United States isn't the entire world, obviously. But an estimated 170 million Americans use the platform. Few companies can sustain a loss of almost 200 million customers.
It's possible that users will be able to access TikTok after the ban, but anyone who hasn't downloaded the app in the US just wouldn't be able to. Over time, a lack of upgrades would cause the TikTok app to gradually become slower and less secure.
Anything technological has some workarounds, but they come with risks. Android users could sideload it, but would miss out on important security features and updates. They could also be vulnerable to the inevitable rise of scammers masquerading as TikTok.
iPhone users can jailbreak their devices, but then could encounter the same problems. Jailbreaking also voids your warranty, so maybe don't do that. The gaming content and cat videos just aren't enough reward for that risk.
Truthfully, in such an unprecedented situation, no one knows exactly what's going to happen and what timeline it will happen on. For anyone making a living from the platform, that's a scary proposition.