LinkedIn to add games to its platform that will rank companies based on employee performance: Report

LinkedIn, the professional social media platform owned by Microsoft, is working to diversify its offerings beyond job search and business networking. The company will reportedly add games to the platform to increase user engagement. LinkedIn will be the latest in a string of several social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube that have experimented with adding in-app games.

According to TechCrunch report, LinkedIn is working on bringing several puzzle-based games to the app, three of which are called “Queens,” “Inference,” and “Crossclimb.” The social media platform confirmed its gaming plans ahead of the release, but did not reveal a launch window for the upcoming games.

“We’re toying with adding puzzle-based games to the LinkedIn experience to unlock some fun, deepen relationships, and hopefully spark conversation,” a LinkedIn spokesperson said in the report.

Nima Owji, an app researcher, also found evidence of LinkedIn gaming on the app, posting screenshots on X (formerly Twitter) that suggested companies on the platform would be ranked in the games based on the performance of their employees. The screenshots show three games – “Blueprint”, “Queens” and “Crossclimb”, all of which appear to be puzzle-based games.

While LinkedIn has confirmed its plans to offer games to its users, there are no details yet on the number and genre of games that will be available on the platform. Games may possibly be offered as part of a LinkedIn Premium subscription.

Earlier this month LinkedIn revealed sales data for its premium subscription for the first time, confirming that the service has reached $1.7 billion (roughly Rs. 14,091 crore) in revenue in 2023 after the company added AI tools to the platform.

Last November, YouTube introduced Playables Arcade, a collection of over 30 arcade games that can be played on the YouTube app on iOS, Android, and Web for its premium subscribers.