WeChat launches new mini games as external developers vie to create China’s next mobile craze

Tencent’s popular WeChat app has opened its Mini Program platform to outside developers for the first time and released a new batch of games

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The mini game Tiao yi tiao recorded 100 million daily active users on WeChat. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:30am, 10 Apr 2018Updated: 7:30am, 10 Apr 2018

WeChat, China’s most popular mobile app that hooked 100 million users to a simple platform-jumping game earlier this year, has launched new mini games from its first collaboration with external developers, opening up a new source of revenue and pipeline of mobile gaming products.

The fresh selection of mini games released on April 4 is composed of a variety of casual card, elimination and numbers games, including one in which a player wins by combining a set of numerals to reach a total number of 2,048, according to mainland tech news site 36kr.com.

The outside game developers working with WeChat, the ubiquitous messaging-social media-shopping-gaming-and-payments app operated by Tencent Holdings, will receive from 30 to 50 per cent share of revenue generated from advertisements placed within each game, according to the company’s announcement last month.

The developers are also able to sell virtual products within their games through a digital payment system, which will only be available to Android smartphone gamers.

Shenzhen-based Tencent will charge a 40 per cent service fee from each of those in-game transactions.