ByteDance reportedly crafting Steam competitor; recruitment posts already spotted
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Key points
- A report from IT Home revealed that ByteDance is currently creating a competitor to Steam.
- The company is reportedly targeting overseas gaming distribution, with UGC also being part of it.
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ByteDance is the parent company behind TikTok and has Moonton as one of its subsidiaries.
According to a report by IT Home via Google Translate, China’s ByteDance is currently hiring people to build a platform similar to Steam called GameTop. The platform will reportedly target overseas gaming distribution.
The report said that GameTop will provide users “diverse game content, creative tools, and a social space for players,” essentially turning it into a social media platform but with the addition of also being offered games like on Steam.
User-generated content, or UGC, is also reportedly being added to the platform, as well as game creation, but it was not specified how these features would coexist on the platform that ByteDance is reportedly planning to make.
The report said that the creation of GameTop is a natural extension of ByteDance’s current plans, which have been in place since Zhang Yunfan took over the company’s strategic direction. Following a big-budget and aggressive expansion strategy, the company has shifted its focus to efficiency. Tom’s Hardware also reported that ByteDance plans to go “all in on game publishing.”
IT Home did not report any dates regarding the platform’s release or where it is in its development cycle.
ByteDance is the parent company behind TikTok; it also has subsidiaries that do game development, such as Moonton, the developers behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
