Bytedance ramps up hiring for video games biz in challenge to Tencent

This article is co-written by Celia Chen.

Bytedance, the world’s most valuable startup, 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.

Photo credit: Dean Drobot / 123RF

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.

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 program.

“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.

Tan is referring to users of popular Bytedance products, led by video-sharing app Douyin – which has the widely adopted TikTok as its international version – and news aggregator app Jinri Toutiao. He said these users “could help them have a more effective distribution channel,” but did not elaborate.

In June, Bytedance said it recorded 1 billion monthly active users of its apps globally as of January this year.

The latest initiative by Bytedance, which relies mostly on advertising revenue from its core content business, shows how China’s major internet companies are competing aggressively in building ecosystems, consisting of various platforms that can host multiple services to attract new users and keep their existing audience.

Founded by former engineer Zhang Yiming in 2012, Bytedance was reportedly valued at US$78 billion last year on the back of TikTok’s rapid international expansion. In seven years, the company has grown to rival Tencent and Baidu as a major player in the country’s vast internet market.

Douyin, for example, has already integrated external online shopping links from Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao Marketplace and Tmall platforms. Alibaba is the parent company of the Post.

In August, Bytedance announced via social media that it was building a general search engine – a development that could threaten online search giant Baidu. In the same month, Bytedance took another crack at breaking Tencent’s grip on social networking in China by introducing a group chat within Douyin.

Earlier in January, the company launched a new video-based social messaging service, Duoshan, which it hopes to become as popular an everyday mobile app in China as Tencent’s WeChat.