LinkedIn plays a new card: puzzle games invade the platform

LinkedIn, the social networking platform owned by Microsoft, has emerged primarily as a platform for people interested in networking and gaining knowledge for professional purposes, and for recruiting. With more than 1 billion users, the recruitment business has achieved remarkable success. Now, to increase the amount of time people spend on the platform, the company is attempting to enter a whole new area: games.

LinkedIn and expansion into the gaming industry

According to a report by TechCrunch, LinkedIn is working on a new games experience. This will be done by leveraging the viral success that simple games such as Wordle have achieved. The platform is developing three initial games called “Queens,” “Inference,” and “Crossclimb.”

Developers have begun to find code that indicates the work LinkedIn is doing in the field of games. One of the researchers, Nima Owji, pointed out that one idea LinkedIn seems to be working on is to organize players’ scores based on workplaces, with companies being “ranked” based on those scores.

A LinkedIn spokesperson confirmed that the company is working on the games, but a launch date has not been announced at this time. The spokesperson said the goal is to add puzzle-based games to the LinkedIn experience to provide fun, deepen relationships, and stimulate conversations.

The huge potential of the games industry

Games are regularly among the most popular apps for cell phones and PCs, both in terms of revenue and user engagement. Casual puzzle-based games are one of the most popular categories among mobile users. Even platforms not strictly related to games have long taken advantage of these trends to increase their traffic. This is a trend that even predates the Internet, if one thinks of the popularity of crossword puzzles and other games in newspapers and magazines.

For example, the New York Times acquired the viral game Wordle in 2022 and said that millions of people continue to play the game, which is now part of a larger platform of puzzles and online games developed by the newspaper.

Microsoft’s involvement in LinkedIn’s project

Microsoft, the company that owns LinkedIn, is a giant in the games industry. Its games business, which includes Xbox, Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax, posted revenues of $7.1 billion last quarter, surpassing Windows revenues for the first time.

However, LinkedIn’s spokesperson declined to disclose how and whether Microsoft is involved in LinkedIn’s games project.

Some platforms, such as Facebook, the world’s largest social network, have been a major focus for social games over the years. However, in 2022, Facebook shut down its standalone games app due to declining usage. Nowadays, the company focuses more on the mixed reality experience and its Meta Quest business.

Over the years, LinkedIn has experimented with several new features to increase the use of the platform, focusing on the needs of its audience and the world of work. These initiatives have included online education, professional development, publishing and news operations, integration of video tools, and collaboration with creators and influencers.