Gaming, dating, and chatting: former Zynga exec has created China’s most promising new social network

Pengpeng is a social mobile gaming app from China for Android and iOS. Upon first hearing that description, you’d be excused for raising a skeptical eyebrow – social and gaming are two of the toughest consumer sectors to penetrate on mobile. But after the Beijing-based startup raised US$4.2 million in funding at the beginning of this year, we lowered our eyebrows and turned our heads.

Tech in Asia sat down with founder Andy Tian to discuss Pengpeng, which he says already has 300,000 daily active users just two months after launch. Tian is no rookie entrepreneur with pipe dreams of building the next Facebook; he’s the former general manager of Zynga China, and he understands the intricacies that make social networks tick.

“There’s such a huge difference in how young people use mobile and anyone who is slightly older,” says Tian, explaining why Pengpeng’s users are by and large China’s “post-90s” (born after 1990) youths. The location-based app lets you meet strangers through social games, which include quizzes, personality tests, horoscopes, and some simple competitive games. After completing a game, users can chat and befriend each other in a chat app-style interface. The app also supports a Facebook-style feed and group chats. Most of the games are developed in house for now, but the app has an open API for developers to submit their own creations.

World Cup quiz (left) and 2048 (right)

Tian says the games serve as an ice breaker from which new relationships can emerge. “You don’t just say, ‘oh, I want to meet people. I think I’ll meet that person.’ You don’t do that in real life,” says Tian. People meet for lunch, go to parties, attend conferences, and, in this case, play games. That’s where most real relationships begin.

“I’m not aiming at the mobile game audience at all. A mobile game user is not my user. A non-game user who’s never played a game; that’s my user,” Tian states. “These games only serve to be social. It’s only fun when you’re playing with other people.”

Blurred lines

Pengpeng female homepage (left) and male (right)

The app blurs the lines between gaming, social, and dating. By default, you’ll mostly see users of the opposite sex. Tian says, “We’re about the highest female percentage among all the mobile phone apps in China. We’re 50-50.” That’s quite a feat, as most apps’ user bases are 30 percent or less female. The fact that the app is built around gaming makes it even more impressive.

“Guys are attracted by hot girls, but girls are attracted by content and their friends that are playing,” he says. The app’s UI is different depending on if a user signs up as a male or female. The color scheme is altered, and the home screen displays different game categories – like personality quizzes for girls and competitive games for guys. “Girls and guys are so different. Why should they have the same screen?” Tian asks. “In the future, the two UIs will diverge much more.”

Matching up

Facebook and WeChat are already out of style for China’s youngsters