LinkedIn has confirmed that it is adding games onto its social media platform. However, no launch date has been announced yet.
“We’re playing with adding puzzle-based games within the LinkedIn experience to unlock a bit of fun, deepen relationships, and hopefully spark the opportunity for conversations,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Stay tuned for more!”
According to leaked screenshots from web developer Nima Owji, the three games that look to be in development are “Queens,” “Crossclimb,” and “Blueprint.” They all seem to be rather simple puzzles games you’d see on platforms such as Wordle from The New York Times. Players can track of how often they play in order to keep their daily streaks.
LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, but it’s unclear how much involvement it has over this initiative. Microsoft bought LinkedIn back in 2016 for $26 billion, a number that has since been dwarfed by Microsoft’s own acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $74.5 billion in October 2023.
Social media apps have experimented with gaming, including Facebook. But the Facebook Gaming app was shut down in October 2022. Since then, its parent company, Meta, has focused on virtual and augmented reality with the release of various headsets. TikTok has also ventured into the gaming space as well, as it has already conducted tests in Southeast Asia.