NEW YORK: After being one of the most popular messaging and calling app Viber has now jumped into the gaming field and launched gaming services for its users worldwide. Users can download the Viber games from iTunes and Play Store for free.
Viber teamed up with some renowned developers such as Playtika and Storm8 to bring Viber-tailored games built using private API. This allows users to know what games their friends or people in contact list are playing and challenge them, as well as share their scores.
This seems like an attempt on Viber’s part to enter the mobile gaming scene. It wouldn’t be a surprise if WhatsApp and others start following the same.
Initially, Viber released games in Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Ukraine and Belarus. The titles included – Wild Luck Casino, Viber Candy Mania and Viber Pop. Viber wants to increase user engagement through these games and generate more revenue via microtransaction in games.
Viber CEO Talmon Marcos shared his excitement to bring games to a much bigger audience. He stated that Viber has over 26 million active users per month. Marcos didn’t reveal any details about their previous launch in five countries, but stated that the reception was positive. Which is surely indicated by their worldwide launch.
Moreover, we can expect to see more games in the near future but the company isn’t yet ready to commit to a release date or time-window.
If successful, mobile games can become a huge cash cow for the company. If we look at Facebook, games are a source of massive revenue for the company and engaging people with the platform. Viber is trying to achieve something similar with its platform. It’s a nice step forward and in the right direction, but it would be ideal if Viber introduces a PayOnce and Play model as well. Because we know how annoying those in-app purchases can be at times.
Viber is available to download on iOS, Windows and Android. Download if you haven’t already and try out the new games Viber has to offer.
