ByteDance boosted its gaming arm Nuverse through a recruiting period, and in March it acquired game studio Moonton.
Getty Images
GUANGZHOU, China – ByteDance has acquired major mobile gaming studio Moonton, highlighting its ambitions in the video game industry and pitting against Chinese giant Tencent.
Known as the owner of TikTok or Douyin in China, ByteDance aims to not only advertise but also capture a slice of the $ 86 billion mobile gaming market and expand its footprint internationally.
ByteDance’s gaming arm Nuverse, founded in 2019, was behind the acquisition.
“Moonton is the perfect partner to expand our gaming strategy in international markets,” ByteDance said in a statement.
Reuters reported that the deal valued Moonton at $ 4 billion, citing two unnamed sources. ByteDance declined to comment on the value of the deal.
“This is a mega deal in the global gaming industry, not just in China. So the M&A craze in the gaming industry continues, and I believe ByteDance is still looking for other studios,” said Serkan Toto, CEO from consultancy firm Kantan Games. told CNBC.
“Be prepared for a long war between Tencent and ByteDance to get game content.”
ByteDance’s international push
Tencent is a world leader in mobile gaming and is behind some of the top titles. This has been achieved in recent years through acquisitions and through strategic participations in smaller companies and by developing our own titles. This gives Tencent an extensive portfolio of games that the company continues to bring in.
It has also enabled Tencent to expand internationally, an achievement ByteDance hopes to achieve as well.
Moonton is known for “Mobile Legends”, a so-called multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in which teams fight against each other in large virtual arenas. Popular titles in this category include Tencent’s “Honor of Kings” and “League of Legends” developed by Riot Games.
Mobile Legends is popular in Southeast Asia. And ByteDance partnered with gaming company Gravity last year to release “Ragnarok X: Next Generation” in the region.
“Bytedance has taken a global approach to its video game business from day one,” Niko Partners, gaming analyst firm, wrote in a note to customers.
TikTok leverage
ByteDance operates the Douyin short video app in China and TikTok in international markets. Last year, ByteDance said that Douyin had 600 million daily active users and TikTok had 700 million monthly active users.
The company could use the social media platform to promote games and attract users.
With Bytedance at the helm, the two companies (Moonton and ByteDance) could use TikTok / Douyin to promote Mobile Legends in markets such as China and the US where Tencent’s Honor of Kings and Riots’ League of Legends: Wild Rift are the dominant mobile phones. . MOBA titles, ”said Niko Partners.
But ByteDance may not be able to rely on acquisitions alone to be successful in gaming.
“The biggest challenge for Bytedance will be to create a proprietary hit that it can use in the long run. Therefore, it signs publishing agreements to publish games based on popular IP and acquires game development companies with a proven track record. service, “” Niko Partners added.