New Delhi: According to media sources, the closure of a game production studio of China-based ByteDance resulted in the loss of over 100 people. 101 Studios, which ByteDance acquired three years ago, has now been shut down by the company. Nikkei Asia stated that “TikTok owner ByteDance is dissolving one of its major game studios due to its huge consequences.” According to the source, some of the 300 people working in the game studio have been transferred to different ByteDance verticals.
ByteDance’s 2019 acquisition of the core conglomerate behind 101 Studios in Shanghai was seen as “laying the foundation for challenging Tencent Holdings’ dominance in mobile gaming”. (Also read: Banks asked to find employment opportunities for ‘Agnivar’ amid Agneepath protests)
The development comes as TikTok is reportedly planning to make a big push into gaming. (Also read: Swiggy agent sent ‘Miss you’ message to the woman, the company replied)
The short-video making platform has reportedly conducted tests that let users in Vietnam play games within its app.
According to TikTok, the only game currently available to users on its platform is Zynga’s “Disco Loco 3D”, a music and dance challenge mini-game.
TikTok’s parent firm ByteDance is also preparing to join the virtual reality (VR) space.
ByteDance aims to invest “a lot of money” in VR-related content, reports Protocol.
More than 40 job listings have emerged for Chinese VR headset maker ByteDance Pico it acquired last year.