ByteDance, TikTok Parent Company, Commits To Lay Offs In Gaming Division
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TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has confirmed a significant downsizing of its gaming business following reports of job cuts. In 2019, ByteDance entered the industry with the formation of Nuverse. Four years later, ByteDance is now set to leave the video game industry with no plans to return.
A ByteDance spokesperson told Reuters it has “made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business” after a recent review. Such restructuring is likely to impact hundreds of employees, along with many of the games Nuverse has released. Sources familiar with the downsizing plans of ByteDance said that unreleased games will no longer be worked on by December. The library of games Nuverse has released across the four years ByteDance is looking to divest from.
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Across the four years, Nuverse’s games have underperformed. Its best-known game, Marvel Snap, amassed a cult following but was not considered a commercial success. The developers of Marvel Snap seem confident that the game will still be active after ByteDance’s restructuring, with a post on the game’s official X (formerly Twitter) account stating, “Some of our players have expressed their concerns regarding reported structural changes at Nuverse. We wish to thank you for your concern and assure you that regardless of any changes at Nuverse, Snap will continue to operate and flourish in the future!”
This restructuring of Nuverse is just another step in ByteDance’s retreat from the competitive video gaming industry. Earlier in the month, ByteDance had started seeking buyers for Moonton Technology, its game development subsidiary. Virtual reality company Pico had seen an overhaul, with a cut to most of its content team. ByteDance’s casual games, running on both TikTok and Chinese sister app Douyin, will not be affected by the structural overhaul.
Such job cuts come at a time when many publishing companies are downsizing, with the likes of Embracer Group, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft letting go of many of their employees across just 2023 alone.
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Source: Reuters
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