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TikTok owner ByteDance ratchets up hiring for video games business in challenge to Tencent

  • The move shows the tech unicorn’s effort to expand its ecosystem of products and services for the world’s largest internet market

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Zhang Yiming, founder and chief executive of ByteDance, continues to expand his company’s ecosystem of products and services, with recent forays into online search, mobile games and even smartphones. Photo: Bloomberg
Tracy Quin ShanghaiandCelia Chenin Shenzhen

ByteDance, the world’s most valuable start-up, is ramping up recruitment for its video games business, months after acquiring a Shanghai-based developer, in a move that could intensify its rivalry with Tencent Holdings.

There were more than 210 gaming-related jobs posted by ByteDance on the career page of its website as of Friday, according to a search conducted by the South China Morning Post on the same day. Openings for another 31 positions were found to be targeted at qualified college students or recent university graduates.

That number was up from about 60 job vacancies – including experienced game developers, designers and producers – that were posted by the Beijing-based tech unicorn in July this year, following its acquisition of mobile game developer Mokun Technology in March.
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Successful applicants to those gaming-related positions will be based in first-tier Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. A ByteDance spokeswoman declined to comment on the company’s latest hiring programme.

“The biggest advantage for ByteDance in entering the gaming sector is its large user base,” said Turian Tan, a gaming market analyst at research firm IDC China.

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