ByteDance, the China-based company best known as the parent corporation for the TikTok social network, will be restructuring its gaming division Nuverse after a failed attempt to enter the video game industry a couple of years ago.
CNBC got a statement from a ByteDance spokesperson, who stated:
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.
While the company didn"t offer any further official details, CNBC reports via unnamed sources that hundreds of employees could be laid off as part of this restructuring. While Nuverse won"t be completely closed, the report stated its operations will be "significantly scaled back".
Nuverse is the developer and/or publisher for a number of well-known mobile games, most notably the online card collectible RPG Marvel Snap. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the official Marvel Snap account stated that even if there are changes at Nuverse, "SNAP will continue to operate and flourish in the future!":
Dear SNAPPERS,
— MARVEL SNAP (@MARVELSNAP) November 27, 2023
Some of our players have expressed their concerns regarding reported structural changes at Nuverse.
We wish to thank you for your concern and assure you that regardless of any changes at Nuverse, SNAP will continue to operate and flourish in the future!
CNBC reports that Bytedance has told its Nuverse employees to stop working on any unreleased games. It also says that it is looking to sell off the large mobile game development studio Moonton, which it acquired for a huge $4 billion in 2021.
This is just the latest example of mass layoffs in the tech industry in general, and in the video game industry in particular, in 2023. Just in the last few months, we have seen announcements of layoffs at major game studios and developers like Bungie, Epic Games, Digital Extremes, Amazon"s game division, and many more.