ByteDance's latest layoffs have reportedly gutted the publisher of Marvel Snap

According to Reuters and Bloomberg, TikTok's parent company ByteDance is winding down its gaming arm, including the Nuverse brand, with "hundreds" of jobs likely to be affected. This spells yet more trouble for the Chinese tech giant following the layoffs in its VR division, Pico, earlier this month (Meta says hi, apparently). Nuverse, acquired by ByteDance in 2017, is the publisher of notable titles including Marvel Snap, Ragnarok X: Next Generation and One Piece: Blood Routes, as well as the developer of Crystal of Atlan, Earth: Revival and more. The company is allegedly seeking divestment from existing titles, while they remain in service for the time being.

Despite the seeming success of these games, iFeng Tech's sources claim that ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo had earlier criticized the gaming arm for its lack of focus and misallocation of resources. 21st Century Business Herald also reports that when it comes to revenue, the Douyin (the Chinese counterpart of TikTok) and ad businesses still overshadow that of the gaming division within ByteDance, according to a source close to the matter. Moonton, another gaming subsidiary acquired by ByteDance in 2021, has apparently been seeking a buyer as well since earlier this month.

Tech site 36Kr claims that as many as around 700 employees across ByteDance's gaming business group are impacted by this restructuring, with all but two in-development projects already terminated. The likes of Tencent, NetEase and MiHoYo may eventually benefit from ByteDance's seeming defeat, but it's also a cautionary tale for these local competitors bound by China's ever-changing gaming regulations.

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