Owner of TikTok ByteDance eliminates positions in the gaming section

 Owner of TikTok ByteDance eliminates positions in the gaming section

Following concerns of employment cutbacks, ByteDance has acknowledged that it would drastically reduce its gaming operations.

In an attempt to challenge market leader Tencent, the Beijing-based business, which also owns the well-known social network TikTok, joined the game sector in 2019.

Nevertheless, market share has not increased.

The BBC is aware that games with persistent player content, such Earth: Revival and Crystal of Atlan, will persist. In December, titles that have not yet been released will be phased out.

This choice will probably have an impact on hundreds of workers.

The BBC was informed by a ByteDance representative that the firm "made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business" and that it examines its operations on a regular basis.

Grand View Research, a market research and consultancy, projected that the worldwide video game industry was valued $217 billion (£172 billion) in the previous year.

The establishment of ByteDance's gaming business, Nuverse, in 2019 was largely seen as a significant step into a field that was expanding quickly.

As part of a larger structural overhaul, the firm officially established itself as one of six business groups in 2021.

Nuverse purchased outside firms, including C4games, to expand its production capabilities.

However, Nuverse hasn't done well and none of its games have turned a profit.

The most recent action represents a withdrawal from the cutthroat video game industry.

Tencent, the opponent of ByteDance, is the biggest gaming firm in the world by revenue.

ByteDance, which was founded in 2012, is the creator of the viral app TikTok, which is claimed to have 1.1 billion monthly active users.

Because of its immense popularity, governments in the US and China, among others, have looked into it.

US President Donald Trump often criticized ByteDance throughout his administration, claiming TikTok posed a danger to US national security.

Officials and politicians expressed alarm about the Chinese government receiving user personal data.

Although TikTok has refuted claims that it distributes user data, its CEO, Shaw Zi Chew, was grilled for hours at a US Congressional hearing in March.

ByteDance's chances of having its TikTok shares seized or being banned are growing.