ByteDance will be rolling out its first game in 2020 directly competing with Tencent
According to Late Post the world’s most valuable startup, ByteDance has internally launched a game-development project and its first heavy game is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2020.
Heavy games are high-end games with sophisticated graphics that require a lot of computing power and memory to run.
Beijing-based ByteDance previously set up a team of more than 100 members working on the demos of nine heavy games.
At present, ByteDance has a total of four games in development, together with the other game companies that itpreviously acquired.
The Beijing-based company purchased a 45.2% stake in game publisher Shanghe Internet Technology (Shanghai) in the week of March, according to reports. Earlier in March, ByteDance purchased Shanghai-based developer Mokun Technology. It released its own in-app game in February through short video platform TikTok.
However, with just a 100-member R&D team, it is too early for ByteDance’s gaming project to pose a realistic threat to Tencent’s ever-strong grip on the online gaming market. Arena of Valor and Pubg Mobile, two of Tencent’s top-grossing heavy games, raked in USD 728 million and USD 141 million in the first half of 2019 respectively. Although ByteDance may not be able to immediately compete with established players in gaming, these moves clearly show the company’s ambition, as it strives to expand from short-video content into other online sectors.