Digital Phablet
LinkedIn, where users often boast about their professional accomplishments and help others get employment, will soon feature them enjoying games.
The professional social networking site has introduced a trio of daily cognitive teasers: Queens, Crossclimb, and Pinpoint, putting the “work” back in “networking,” said Dan Roth, VP and editor-in-chief of LinkedIn News.
LinkedIn is entering into the gaming industry. The LinkedIn mobile app and desktop site allow users to access three distinct games: Pinpoint, Queens, and Crossclimb.
Each game may be played once each day, and players can view stats such as their top score, daily streak, numerous leaderboards, and who else in their network has played. The games are accessible via the LinkedIn News and My Network area on the desktop or the My Network page on mobile.
The “brain-oriented” games will be accessible on the My Network page for both mobile and desktop platforms, as well as in the LinkedIn News section for desktop.
LinkedIn’s venture into gaming is said to follow the immense success of the puzzle game Wordle. This event spawned other imitations attempting to profit from the growing user interest in word puzzles.
LinkedIn is presently giving its games for free, ostensibly to increase user engagement on the platform. Along with displaying an individual’s top score and daily streak, LinkedIn will also indicate which of their contacts have played, as well as school and workplace leaderboards.
According to a press release, LinkedIn’s product director, Lakshman Somasundaram, stated that “it’s time we turn over a new leaf in how we deepen and reignite relationships at work, and put fun at the heart of it.”
LinkedIn’s games were created by its News division, which just hired a games editor named Paolo Pasco. According to The Hustle Daily, Pasco had worked for the American Values Club problem, a weekly membership puzzle, before joining LinkedIn. He also won this year’s Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.
The New York Times (NYT) games received over 8 billion plays last year, with Wordle, the Times’ word-guessing game bought in 2022, accounting for more than half of that total.
The Times has membership options exclusively for its games, as well as a more expensive All Access bundle that incorporates games and other New York Times content.
In an interview with Digiday, Jonathan Knight, the publisher’s head of games, explained how gaming subscriptions have helped the Times’ growth and customer retention: “If you’re a subscriber and engage with both news and games in any given week, the likelihood of retaining your subscription over the long term is much higher.”
