TikTok creator ByteDance said to name video games head, ramping up rivalry with Tencent
- The appointment is expected to help ByteDance sharpen its efforts in the video games industry
China’s ByteDance, creator of global hit video-sharing app TikTok, will appoint an executive to exclusively lead its nascent video games business, sources said, signalling the firm’s growth ambitions in the sector and intensifying its rivalry with internet giant Tencent Holdings.
Yan Shou, the head of strategy, investment and gaming at ByteDance, will now focus wholly on the video games business, as the company sees it as the next important source of growth, with plans to roll out a game like Honour of Kings, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public.
The move comes as the Beijing-based start-up, which was valued at US$78 billion in late 2018 and is backed by major investors including SoftBank Group Corp and KKR, is seeking to diversify its operations amid a US national security investigation into TikTok.
ByteDance declined to comment. Yan did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Video games is seen as a steady revenue source, as users tend to keep playing popular titles for years. The industry has also received a boost in recent weeks after the coronavirus outbreak forced many Chinese residents to stay at home, driving up game downloads.