How Would a TikTok Ban Affect Video Game Companies?
By Movieguide® Contributor
With President Biden officially signing a TikTok ban into law and starting the clock on when it will go into effect, video game insiders shared how the loss of that platform would affect the industry.
Stray Fawn Studios found the motivation to continue working and the fanbase for a successful launch of their game “The Wandering Village” thanks to update videos they posted on TikTok. The social media platform drastically changed the outcome of their game by allowing them to interact with fans during development and incorporate their suggestions while they were still working on the building of their game.
“We [had] some pretty big posts even early in development, which reassured us to continue to work on the project for longer because if we hadn’t had that reassurance, not only from TikTok but also from the Wishlist count…we probably would have wrapped up the early access version sooner…,” Philomena Schwab, a co-founder of the studio, told Polygon. “It helped us have courage in the game.”
While every social media site has an algorithm working to bring relevant content to users, Schwab believes TikTok’s is the most aggressive, allowing accounts with very few followers to reach a large audience if they can create something sharable. Other platforms like YouTube, meanwhile, will, in large, only share videos with a large audience if the user already has a significant number of subscribers.
“I think one of the things we see for indies which is something that makes TikTok truly unique is that content creators aren’t gated by [the number of followers] the same way that [they are on] pretty much every other platform,” Adam Lieb, the CEO of marketing platform Gamesight, told Polygon.
“The algorithm—the mysterious man behind the curtain—does allow content to get surfaced to more people, regardless of following,” Lieb continued. “And so, we’ve seen just some amazing, amazing success stories on TikTok, which aren’t really paid marketing because they’re not usually like running a bunch of ads.”
While this negative impact as a result of the ban is worrying, it did not go unnoticed by the U.S. government and was the main argument congressmen cited when the bill was being voted on. Those who opposed the bill worried about the impact it would have on millions of small business owners who rely on TikTok to reach a sizable platform.
Before the legislation passed, the AP reported, “Content creators say a ban would hurt countless people and businesses that rely on TikTok for a significant portion of their income, while also arguing TikTok has become an unrivaled platform for dialogue and community.”
Nonetheless, despite this argument and heavy lobbying in the days leading up to the vote, the bill passed the House and Senate with flying colors, seeing heavy bipartisan support. President Biden quickly signed the bill into law after it passed, leaving ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, 270 days to sell to a non-Chinese company or be banned from all devices in the U.S.
Movieguide® previously reported:
“On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a new proposal that would extend the sale requirement deadline to nine months, with a potential for a 90-day extension,” Variety reported.
The proposed legislation has also been added to another bill that seeks to aid foreign countries in economic relief.
NBC News reported, “The House plans to package a slightly revised TikTok bill with billions in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, all but guaranteeing the potential TikTok ban will become law.”
Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell spoke on the situation.
“I’m very happy that Speaker Johnson and House leaders incorporated my recommendation to extend the ByteDance divestment period from six months to a year. As I’ve said, extending the divestment period is necessary to ensure there is enough time for a new buyer to get a deal done. I support this updated legislation,” she said.
In a statement, TikTok claimed the legislation goes against freedom of speech and harms small businesses.
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