Hongguo is booming. What does that mean for Douyin?

Douyin Group Vice President Li Liang has cautioned creators against rushing into AI short dramas, citing the success of Hongguo hit Armed Into the Song Dynasty as an example of the experience and resources needed to produce a hit. Hongguo, a short-drama app, has reached a new milestone with 430 million users in September, overtaking ByteDance's AI chatbot Doubao to become its second-largest app after Douyin.

The rise of Hongguo may suggest that ByteDance is finding another way to capture viewers' entertainment time, and its growth may have implications for Douyin. Hongguo's free, ad-supported model and use of AI tools to cut production costs are drawing audiences, and its serialized stories and recurring characters are keeping viewers coming back. As Hongguo grows, it may face challenges in adapting to tighter content moderation without losing the storytelling that keeps viewers hooked.