Chinese tech giant ByteDance said on Tuesday it is talking to many groups interested in buying its gaming assets.
The owner of TikTok said Tencent, the world’s largest video games company, is one of multiple prospective buyers, as the social media group retreats from the gaming sector.
Talks are ongoing but no deal has been reached, a ByteDance spokesperson said.
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ByteDance and Tencent are discussing a deal involving multiple popular video games published by ByteDance’s Nuverse gaming unit including “Crystal of Atland” and “Earth: Revival”, local media outlet LatePost reported on Monday.
Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ByteDance in November said it would overhaul Nuverse and retreat from the gaming business to focus on other core businesses, five years after beginning its high-profile foray into the $185 billion global video games market.
The firm stopped working on unreleased games and planned to divest of titles already launched, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
In November it was seeking buyers of its other gaming unit Moonton, which it acquired in 2021.
ByteDance’s relationship with Tencent in gaming has warmed after a rancorous period of competition.
Tencent has made heavy use of ByteDance’s advertising network to promote its latest game “DreamStar”, Reuters reported in December.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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