Back
~
1
min read
· Posted on
February 21, 2024

It's game over for ByteDance as it fails to level up in the gaming world

After just two years in the market, ByteDance has pulled the pin on its gaming unit.

What's the key learning?

  • Despite the success with TikTok and its Chinese app Douyin, ByteDance couldn't do the same with its gaming unit Nuverse.
  • Transferring success from one domain to another isn't always as easy as it seems.
  • Gaming requires story depth and sophisticated game play mechanics, which is a big contrast with to rapid approach used in social media platforms like TikTok.

👉 Background: Back in 2021, ByteDance (the owner of TikTok) announced six core business units, which included a gaming department called Nuverse.

👉 What happened: They were so serious about gaming that ByteDance acquired a gaming studio called Moonton for a reported $4 billion USD. But now, after just two years in the market, ByteDance has pulled the pin on its gaming unit.

👉 What else: It's believed that nearly 3,000 employees will be laid off. So, despite the success with TikTok and its Chinese app Douyin, it couldn't do the same with Nuverse.

What's the key learning?

💡Transferring success from one domain to another isn't always as easy as it seems. The creative process in different industries can be extremely different.

💡For example, gaming requires story depth and sophisticated game play mechanics.. This is a big contrast with to rapid approach used in social media platforms like TikTok.

💡TikTok isn't the only tech slash content company to try to get a slice of the gaming industry and fail; Netflix also made a big push into video games. But despite their number of games tripling, less than 1% of all Netflix subscribersplay a Netflix game on a daily basis.

Ready to win at money?

Sign up for Flux and join 100,000 members of the Flux family

A button to App StoreGoogle Play store button
Excellent  4.9 out of 5
Star rating