Meta Threads Tests In-Chat Basketball Games to Boost User Engagement and Social Interaction

Meta is at it once again with a new innovation aimed at keeping users engaged with the rapidly growing social platform, Threads. The platform is reportedly developing an in-chat gaming functionality that will make conversations more engaging and fun. The functionality is based on a basketball game that will enable users to shoot hoops while still engaged in a message. While this functionality may still not be out yet for the general public, it shows the direction with which Meta is headed with regards to developing Threads from a mere social platform based on text messages.

Basketball-Themed In-Chat Game Prototype Spotted on Threads

The in-message basketball game prototype has been discovered by Alessandro Paluzzi, a reverse engineer with a reputation for discovering hidden features of popular apps that were not yet released to the market. He posted a screenshot that showed how this feature may work in Threads messaging. According to this prototype, in order to play this game, users simply need to touch their screens with their fingers to throw a basketball to get points in a hoop.

From the standpoint of Meta, this type of feature may provide a substantial boost to the amount of time people spend in the chats. By integrating the aspects of gaming with the threads functionality, Threads may incorporate the ability to make the day-to-day conversations more fun and entertaining for the users.

How Threads’ In-Chat Games Compare With Other Messaging Platforms

If Meta eventually introduces this new feature, Threads will definitely have an impressive edge over its competitors. For example, Apple Messages currently only has games available to its users through applications such as GamePigeon. Using this application, users can enjoy games while still using messages. Threads are, however, developing an application that will enable users to enjoy games while still using messages.

This would not be Meta’s inaugural project to weave fun elements into messaging. Just last year, Instagram quietly introduced an emoji-based games system that was secretly hidden inside direct messages. The concept of the games system was that a user could keep an emoji floating around inside the message screen while attempting to get the top score. The purpose of that project was well-received in that it brought a fun aspect to direct messages, much like the basketball games in Threads.

Meta’s Bigger Plan to Expand Threads’ Feature Set

More than just in-chat games, Meta has been aggressively expanding Threads with feature updates in its bid to gain-and retain-more users. The platform is adding more to its Communities feature, which lets people be part of topic-based discussions, much like in Reddit. That makes Threads not just a microblogging app but also a place for longer conversations around shared interests.

Threads also introduced disappearing posts, a feature where users post content that disappears after 24 hours. This new development is in line with the increasing desire for more fleeting, low-obligation ways to share content; it is an emerging trend already very popular on other Meta-owned platforms.

The Challenges Threads Still Faces Against Rivals

But despite all the rapid growth, Threads is still to clear many more obstacles, specifically in the U.S. market. According to a recent report, it has about 400 million monthly users all over the world. However, it still lags behind X, particularly in key regions around the world. According to data provided by the Pew Research Center, about 21% of U.S. adults use X, while about 8% and 4% are using Threads and Bluesky, respectively.

To close this gap, Meta is focusing on increasing engagement rather than just sign-ups. Features like in-message basketball games could be crucial to that strategy as it would encourage users to stay more on Threads and build stronger social connections within the app.

Including games within chat messages may signal a significant development in how social media sites treat user interaction. Through incorporating engagement within conversations, Threads may target consumers interested in a more extensive array of activities compared to mere scrolling and posting. Though there has been no official release of this feature to the public domain regarding a basketball game within Threads, this development is an indication of Meta's plans to ensure Threads is more competitive and distinct in a saturated market domain of social media provision.

If implemented successfully, in-chat games might end up becoming one of the hallmark aspects of Threads, making it a one-of-a-kind platform while also ensuring people return not only for conversation but also for play.