TikTok Owner ByteDance Axes Hundreds Of Jobs In Gaming Division

During his term, former US President Donald Trump regularly attacked ByteDance, accusing TikTok of being a threat to US national security.

TikTok Owner ByteDance Axes Hundreds Of Jobs In Gaming Division

Following concerns about job cutbacks, ByteDance has acknowledged that it would dramatically shrink its gaming division.

The Beijing-based business, which also owns TikTok, joined the game sector in 2019 to battle with industry giant Tencent.

However, it has failed to gain market share.

According to the BBC, games with active players, such as Crystal of Atlan and Earth: Revival, will continue. Titles that have not yet been released will be decommissioned in December.

Hundreds of employees are anticipated to be affected by the decision.

According to a ByteDance spokesperson, the firm "made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business" on a regular basis.

According to business research and consultancy firm Grand View Research, the worldwide video game market was valued at $217 billion (£172 billion) last year.

ByteDance's founding of its gaming company Nuverse in 2019 was largely seen as a significant push into a once-thriving industry.

In 2021, the firm will formally establish itself as one of six business segments as part of a larger structural makeover.

Nuverse bought external studios, such as C4Games, to increase production capacity.

However, Nuverse's record has been uneven, with none of its titles being financial successes.

The new decision signals a withdrawal from the competitive video game industry.

Tencent, ByteDance's opponent, is the world's largest gaming firm in terms of revenue.

ByteDance, which was founded in 2012, produced the global smash-hit app TikTok, which has an estimated 1.1 billion active monthly users.

Because of its enormous popularity, it has drawn the attention of governments all around the world, particularly those in the United States and China.

During his presidency, US President Donald Trump frequently targeted ByteDance, alleging TikTok was endangering US national security.

Politicians and authorities expressed alarm over the Chinese government receiving personal information from users.

TikTok has denied sharing user data, although its CEO, Shou Zi Chew, was grilled for hours at a US congressional hearing in March.

ByteDance is under increasing pressure to spin off its TikTok shares or face a ban.