Chinese company ByteDance, the maker of TikTok, plans to return to the video game industry months after retreating amid concerns about a US ban on the short-video app.
According to an internal circular published by economic news portal Caixin, ByteDance will monitor developments in the sector and will continue to “explore” the video game business, a segment for which it will appoint its former head of human resources.
In November, the tech company decided to cancel all projects in its Nuverse video game division and sell the rights and operations of its most profitable games to other companies.
However, a possible ban on TikTok in the US (the bill passed the House of Representatives but still needs to pass the Senate before President Joe Biden can sign it) has forced the company to change its mind.
The bill, which was approved by a vote of 352 to 65 in the lower house of the US Parliament, would require ByteDance to divest from TikTok to avoid a ban on the short-video platform in the US, amid allegations it poses a national security threat due to the Chinese government’s ability to gain access to user data and be able to influence elections.
TikTok chief executive Shu Zi Chu expressed disappointment on Thursday over the possible veto, while Chinese authorities, who ban North American services such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp or YouTube on their territory, classified it as a veto. “an act of injustice” and a pretext for “oppressing successful foreign companies.”