Nuverse

Was a well-funded but ultimately unsuccessful challenger to established gaming giants Tencent and NetEase, backed by ByteDance's resources but unable to achieve sustainable scale before being shut down.

Nuverse was the gaming arm of ByteDance, the Chinese technology giant behind TikTok and Douyin. Established around 2020, Nuverse was ByteDance's bid to become a major player in the global gaming industry, competing with established giants like Tencent and NetEase. The division pursued an aggressive strategy of acquiring and investing in game studios worldwide, publishing titles across mobile and PC platforms, and developing original intellectual properties. Notable titles under its umbrella included Marvel Snap (developed by Second Dinner, which Nuverse published in some regions) and Farlight 84, a battle royale shooter that gained traction in emerging markets. At its peak, Nuverse operated across multiple regions and managed a portfolio of studios and publishing deals spanning casual, mid-core, and competitive gaming segments. The division represented ByteDance's broader ambition to diversify beyond short-form video and social media into interactive entertainment, leveraging its massive user base on TikTok and Douyin as potential distribution channels for games. However, the division struggled to achieve the scale and profitability ByteDance required, facing intense competition and the high costs associated with AAA and mid-core game development. In November 2023, ByteDance announced it was winding down Nuverse, resulting in approximately 1,000 layoffs across its global studios and publishing teams. ByteDance did not exit gaming entirely — it retained Ohayoo, its casual mobile gaming label focused on the Chinese market, and continued supporting games integrated into the TikTok platform. The shutdown of Nuverse marked one of the more significant retreats from the gaming industry by a major tech conglomerate, underscoring the difficulty of breaking into a market dominated by entrenched incumbents.