ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is currently in discussions with multiple potential buyers for its gaming assets, as the company moves away from the gaming industry. One of the entities in talks with ByteDance is Tencent, the world’s largest video games company. However, no deal has been reached yet.
According to a ByteDance spokesperson who spoke to Reuters, the discussions are still ongoing. ByteDance’s Nuverse gaming unit has published several popular video games, including “Crystal of Atland” and “Earth: Revival”. ByteDance and Tencent are reportedly discussing a deal that would involve these games.
In November 2021, ByteDance announced its intention to overhaul Nuverse and retreat from the gaming business to focus on other core businesses. This decision was made five years after ByteDance began its foray into the $185 billion global video games market. At the time, Reuters reported that ByteDance had stopped working on unreleased games and planned to divest of titles already launched.
Furthermore, ByteDance has been seeking buyers for its other gaming unit, Moonton, which it acquired in 2021, according to Reuters. Despite a period of competition between the two companies, ByteDance’s relationship with Tencent in gaming has improved recently. Tencent has been utilizing ByteDance’s advertising network to promote its latest game “DreamStar”, Reuters reported in December.