LinkedIn Games the Next New Thing Set to Distract Us Online

Here’s a question for all you social media scrollers: are LinkedIn games the one thing the platform needs less than anything else?

If you answered ‘yes,’ we’ve got some bad news for you.

That’s because, as reported by tech industry outlet TechCrunch, the Microsoft-owned platform for professionals plans to introduce gaming to keep users on the site for longer.

Aiming to cash in on the current puzzle craze sweeping the globe, LinkedIn is looking to add its own puzzle-based brain teasers with names like Queen, Inference, and Crossclimb to boost engagement and give users more to do after they’ve sent that first connection message.

“We’re playing with adding puzzle-based games within the LinkedIn experience to unlock a bit of fun, deepen relationships, and hopefully spark the opportunity for conversations,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told TechCrunch.

The same spokesperson also shared screenshots with independent app researcher and web developer, Nima Owji, on rival social media platform, X.

While there’s no launch date as yet, it’s clear LinkedIn is keen to jump on the same bandwagon that saw Wordle become a viral hit before it was bought by The New York Times.

There’s no telling how many LinkedIn games staff will get stuck into at company headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. Image credit: Wikipedia

And from a business perspective, it makes sense to try and keep users on LinkedIn for longer—by any means necessary, it would seem.

But adding in-platform games also dilutes LinkedIn’s express purpose as a networking tool for job-seekers and job-creators, and a dedicated space for online professional development.

It also ignores the fact that LinkedIn has become a place to do business, with more than 67 million businesses currently listed on the platform—a figure that grows by the day.

Giving users the option to play games on the platform runs the risk of turning LinkedIn into another Facebook—a site that originally started with the goal of connecting people, but one that grew so large, so quickly it eventually turned off millions of users from actually using it.

What do you think?

Will you be killing time on LinkedIn, waiting for the chance to play yet another crossword game?

Or do you think LinkedIn games is a move that dilutes the power of the platform?

A spokesperson shared several screenshots of some proposed LinkedIn games. Image credit: Nima Owji/X.

Intrigued by the Prospect of LinkedIn Games? So Are We

Spending all your spare time trawling through LinkedIn posts? Maybe it’s time to do something productive and talk to Hunt & Hawk.

We’ve got an in-house team of branding, sales, and marketing experts just itching to provide you with a diverse range of creative services.

Keen to know more? Drop us a line to get the ball rolling.

You can contact us at hello@huntandhawk.com or book a meeting to schedule a chat.

From LinkedIn games to so much more… our blog is packed with the latest marketing, branding, and tech news, tips, and expert insights. Or for more updates, follow Hunt & Hawk on LinkedIn.