Telegram has taken a significant step in enhancing its gaming ecosystem by launching an internal app store, aimed at fostering a vibrant platform for developers of mini apps.
New Features and User Engagement
The Mini App Store is now accessible across all versions of Telegram, including mobile, web, and desktop, following the latest update. Users can conveniently find it nestled between the Channels and Media tabs in the messenger’s search function.
With a staggering 500 million out of its 950 million monthly active users engaging with mini apps each month, Telegram anticipates that this new feature will further boost user interaction with applications and games within the messenger.
The Mini App Store showcases the most popular mini apps available on the platform, along with those previously utilized by users. It also includes a search function for discovering additional products. However, it currently lacks a categorization system for games and does not offer recommendations or enhanced discoverability features.
In a bid to enrich the user experience, developers can now upload short videos and screenshots to the Preview section of their app’s page. Furthermore, users have the ability to share any content created within the apps—such as screenshots, leaderboards, and AI-generated videos—directly to Telegram Stories.
All mini apps are launched within Telegram’s in-app browser, which has undergone a significant update. Users can now collapse and reopen pages seamlessly, as well as switch effortlessly between messages and web content.
This move aligns Telegram with a growing trend among tech companies exploring similar models. For instance, Tencent has successfully integrated mini games into its social network, WeChat, which recently reported 500 million monthly active users and over 1 billion unique users engaging with mini games. In its latest annual report, Tencent highlighted a remarkable 50% year-over-year growth in gross revenue from mini games in 2023.
