TikTok owner ByteDance lays off hundreds of staff
ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant behind TikTok, has let hundreds of staff go as one of its businesses struggles.
ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant behind TikTok, will let hundreds of workers go as it all but abandons its video gaming arm.
The Beijing-based company announced it will wind back Nuverse, its video game developer and publisher, from next month in an attempt to focus on its core businesses.
The announcement, which was made internally on Monday, requires the axing of hundreds of staff, a source close to the company told CNN.
It’s understood Nuverse will retain some of its operations, as well as some staff, but it’s unclear how many.
ByteDance will stop development on games that haven’t yet been released and attempt to sell off its existing titles, including “Crystal of Atlan,” an anime-style multiplayer game, and “Earth: Revival,” a sci-fi survival quest, the source said. Both titles were launched earlier this year.
It’s also believed ByteDance will attempt to rid itself of Monton, the studio responsible for its biggest game, “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang”, which it only acquired in 2021.
The multiplayer app is billed as having racked up more than one billion installations worldwide and 100 million monthly active users, making it the company’s most successful game.
In a statement Tuesday, a ByteDance spokesperson said: “Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business.”
“We regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to centre on long-term strategic growth areas,” the spokesperson added.
Nuverse is a small part of ByteDance’s operations, estimated to account for just one per cent of the company’s total revenue.
Its crown jewel is, of course, TikTok, a social media platform that shot to popularity among Gen Z and swiped a significant portion of Instagram’s user base.
The video-sharing app has faced restrictions in several countries over concerns that ByteDance shares user data with the Chinese government, which the company denies, and was recently banned in Nepal.
Originally published as TikTok owner ByteDance lays off hundreds of staff
