Telegram is making its encrypted messaging app more fun for its 100 million users with the introduction of chatbot-powered HTML5 games.
30 of them are already available for you to play solo or with friends in a group chat, and the company says that hundreds more are on the way. And unlike the text-based games that were previously available, these have graphics and sound.
Plus, Telegram says that you’ll be able to keep track of high scores within a group and on global leaderboards too.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
To play, simply enter ‘@gamebot’ in a chat to see a menu of available games and choose one. The current selection includes basic titles in categories like sports, arcade and puzzles; Telegram says that multiplayer 3D-shooters and real-time strategy games will also work just as well.
That’s because the games are based on HTML5 and are loaded in the app the same way as webpages. In addition to making a wide range of game types possible for the platform, it also negates the need to store games on users’ devices and take up precious storage space.
Telegram games are available on both iOS and Android. You’ll want to upgrade to the latest version of the app to get started.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.