Meet the latest Southeast Asian viral app sensation that’s made in China

If there’s anything we’ve learned from apps like Angry Bird and Candy Crush, it’s that simple and silly games can get millions of players hooked – especially when they can compete with friends and strangers alike.

That appears to be the formula for Hago, a social gaming app that became the most downloaded Android app of its category in Indonesia and Vietnam at the beginning of November, according to App Annie.

Hago, however, comes from neither country. It was created by Neotask Inc., a company owned by Chinese video-streaming giant YY. (Tech in Asia contacted both companies for comment but didn’t get a response.)

Hago has a collection of mini-games that can be played with simple controls. There’s a game where black and white sheep do head-butts to drive the other out of the screen. Another game gets you to match as many fruits as you can. There’s also a simple back-and-forth tennis match.

Some games sound familiar, like one that lets you slash falling fruits – think Fruit Ninja, which is now pivoting towards a competitive multiplayer model, by the way.

That’s exactly the salient feature of the Hago app – the ability to compete with friends, as well as strangers, especially those who are nearby. As such, signing up for the app entails giving it access to your location and contacts.

Hago allows players to send emojis to each other as well as communicate via chat and voice call. Users can also send an opponent a friend request. Indeed, the social aspect is heavily emphasized on its App Store and Google Play Store screenshots and descriptions:

To celebrate Diwali in India, the app offered users the chance to win shopping vouchers. And like many mobile games, it offers in-game purchases of special features and items.

The rise of “social+” apps

Hago’s tagline – “play games, make friends” – reflects the rising popularity of social+ apps in Southeast Asia. This business model incorporates entertainment, news, education, or ecommerce into a social app.

By mixing communication with other functions, the model enhances an app’s stickiness. For the best proof of this, look no further than super app WeChat, which started out as a messaging platform and hit one billion monthly active users in March.

Neotask’s parent company, YY, is also a success story in this space. A social media network with 300 million active users, YY was launched in 2008 as a voice-based gaming communications service.

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