TikTok parent company ByteDance is cutting hundreds of jobs in its gaming division, marking a significant retreat from a segment it has invested billions of dollars in to challenge market leader Tencent.
“We regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to center on long-term strategic growth areas. Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business,” a ByteDance spokesperson said.
ByteDance has also told employees to stop working on unreleased games, the person said.
Over the past few years, ByteDance has made an aggressive push into gaming in a bid to challenge other gaming giants like China’s Tencent and NetEase.
ByteDance acquired a major mobile gaming studio called Moonton in 2021 for a reported $4 billion, underscoring its ambitions. The company is now looking to sell Moonton.
