Just Two Years, ByteDance Performs Mass Layoffs Against Its Game Department

JAKARTA - In 2021, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance plans to expand its business to the gaming sector. It's only been two years since ByteDance's game department, Nuverse, was reportedly dissolved.

We periodically review our business and make adjustments to focus on long-term strategic growth areas. After a recent review, we made difficult decisions to restructure our game business," a ByteDance spokesperson told TechCrunch.

It is not yet known how many employees were affected by the layoffs, but the spokesman said that Nuverse employees are currently still feeling anxious.

Earlier, a report from Chinese media, LatePost said that the Nuverse had rapidly grown to around 3,000 people in 2021 to the last few years.

In 2021, ByteDance officially acquired Moonton Technology, as the developer of the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The second deal is worth nearly $4 billion.

Still in the same year, ByteDance is also rumored to have spread its wings to Virtual Reality (VR) technology by acquiring a startup called Pico.

ByteDance's failure in video games and its virtual reality efforts Pico raises doubts over the universal implementation of a data-based A/B testing strategy that has catapulted its name.