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Video gaming
AbacusCulture

TikTok maker said to be building a gaming team

ByteDance is creating games for its news app Jinri Toutiao

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TikTok maker said to be building a gaming team
Masha Borak
This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Video game clips are hugely popular on TikTok, especially Fortnite clips, which have spawned countless memes. In China, though, the short video app is being sued for broadcasting certain games owned by the country’s biggest game distributor, Tencent.

Tencent, China’s social and entertainment giant

Now it seems that TikTok’s parent company is pushing back. Beijing News reported that ByteDance’s news aggregation platform, Jinri Toutiao, is setting up its own 200-person-strong gaming unit.

TikTok, the viral short video sensation, has its roots in China

ByteDance has declined to comment on the news. But it would make sense for the company, which started adding games to Jinri Toutiao last year. It also launched mini games in TikTok (locally known as Douyin) in February this year, starting with a game about a cute, little ball.
Popular news app Jinri Toutiao now has a number of games available for you to waste time on between reading news articles. (Picture: Jinri Toutiao)
Popular news app Jinri Toutiao now has a number of games available for you to waste time on between reading news articles. (Picture: Jinri Toutiao)
ByteDance also bought a gaming startup called Mokun Technology this year, which has titles such as Flick Up and Fighter of the Destiny.
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ByteDance’s gaming ambitions seem irksome for Tencent, which owns the rights to some of the biggest games available today, including Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG Mobile and the insanely popular Honor of Kings (aka Arena of Valor).

Arena of Valor, China’s mobile League of Legends, is aiming to be the world’s go-to mobile esport

Tencent started a full-blown offensive against ByteDance by filing a lawsuit in March, requesting that it stop streaming Tencent’s hit titles CrossFire and Honour of Kings on its own app. So far, Tencent has requested bans on game streaming for eight times.

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