TikTok parent ByteDance is selling their gaming business unit. One of those interested in buying is Tencent, owner of many famous games including PUBG Mobile.

Currently ByteDance has reached the negotiation stage with Tencent, but so far has not reached an agreement, as quoted by Gamestation from Reuters, Tuesday (16/1/2024).

ByteDance and Tencent negotiated a sale involving a number of well-known games published by Nuverse, ByteDance’s gaming unit, for example Crystal of Atland and Earth: Revival.

In November 2023, ByteDance admitted that it would overhaul Nuverse and withdraw from the gaming business because they wanted to focus on their other core businesses. This decision comes five years after entering the gaming business, which currently has a global value of USD 185 billion.

Currently, ByteDance has stopped releasing new games and plans to divest the games that have already been launched. Previously they had been looking for potential buyers for Moonton, the company behind the popular game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which was also recently acquired by ByteDance in 2021.

Even though they had fierce competition in the gaming business, relations between ByteDance and Tencent have recently warmed up after Tencent often used ByteDance’s advertising network to promote their newest game entitled DreamStar.

Previously it was reported that last November there were several potential companies that wanted to buy Moonton. Including companies based in Saudi Arabia.

Moonton Technology was acquired in 2021 for USD 4 billion or around IDR 62.2 trillion. Shortly after the acquisition, the Chinese government set various strict regulations for the gaming industry, which caused the development of the gaming business in China to decline.