ByteDance Ltd. plans to cut hundreds of jobs in gaming and wind down its showpiece brand Nuverse in a major withdrawal from the sector, handing a victory to rival Tencent Holdings Ltd.
TikTok’s owner will fire several hundred people, unwind projects under development and weigh potential sales of existing titles, people familiar with the matter said. The Chinese company intends to announce the move on Monday, one person added, asking to remain anonymous discussing a private deal.
The closure marks ByteDance’s biggest retreat from a once-booming gaming industry dominated by Tencent and its smaller foe NetEase Inc. The startup, known for short video platforms TikTok and Douyin, has gradually scaled back its gaming ambitions in the post-Covid era after failing to grab market share from Tencent. The Beijing-based firm is considering selling Shanghai Moonton Technology Co., a high-profile studio it acquired for $4 billion in 2021, Bloomberg News has reported.
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