Could WhatsApp Messenger users be playing games with their friends via the popular instant messaging application in the near future? While it’s surely not a for sure thing yet, if reports from TechCrux (via The Next Web) are correct, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.
Other instant messaging applications such as LINE and KakaoTalk have already implemented gaming on their apps as a strategy to (among other things) increase revenues, a strategy that has indeed proven to be a success. To accomplish this for themselves, WhatsApp could be looking to partner with WeMade, a game creator out of KakaoTalk’s home turf of Seoul, South Korea according to tips from sources.
WhatsApp is ad-free, so sources of revenue for the app are quite hard to come by aside from the small $0.99 fee charged in some app stores. While the gaming is likely to be a bigger hit for Asian countries, WhatsApp could capitalize on being the first to introduce a wider gaming experience to audiences in the United States to surpass the one that KakaoTalk has already introduced. Of course, it’s also just as likely that these reports are nothing more than rumor, especially since WhatsApp has shied away from adding advanced features to their application in the past, opting instead for basic text, picture, and audio messaging features.
We’ve contacted WhatsApp to see if this is indeed something that could be added to the messaging app in the future and we’ll update accordingly when and if we hear anything. Would you want to see gaming on WhatsApp?