ByteDance subsidiary signs game cooperation deal

ByteDance, the parent firm of Douyin, plans to expand into gaming via a new cooperation agreement with a Shenzhen-listed firm.

Kaisa Culture surged by the 10-percent daily limit on Monday after it announced a cooperation with Zhaoxi Guangnian, a subsidiary of ByteDance. 

Both sides will cooperate on game distribution, operation, intellectual property, derivatives, marketing, advertising and capital, Kaisa Culture said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange filed over the weekend.

With a huge user base and booming business on social and content platforms like Douyin in China and TikTok abroad, ByteDance is expected to become a competitive new player in the domestic game market, now dominated by Tencent and NetEase, analysts said.

ByteDance has already sought diversification in sectors like education and gaming. The company released mini-games within Douyin or TikTok China in 2019 and set up gaming teams nationwide.

The pandemic has given a strong boost to the gaming industry since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, domestic game firms have been growing rapidly in overseas markets since 2018, Liu Yuan, Internet analyst of UBS, said in a recent phone conference.

In May, ByteDance appointed a top Disney executive as COO and CEO of TikTok as the Chinese tech giant seeks to drive global development and comply with local regulations in overseas markets.