ByteDance, the Chinese company responsible for the TikTok app, has decided that entering the gaming market is not going to work out after all. Reports are coming in that ByteDance’s games publisher Nuverse will be “restructured” as future game development halts, aspirations to enter the gaming market end wholesale, and released games like Second Dinner’s digital TCG will be divested.
Information about Nuverse winding down is still a bit patchy, but sources say the company will end work on developing games projects by December and already launched games like Marvel Snap will be dropped by the publisher. The decision will reportedly affect hundreds of employees, who were apparently told about Nuverse’s closure over the past weekend.
Nuverse was first founded in 2019 but has reportedly failed to gain any traction despite its aspirations to take on megacorp Tencent. It has managed to release only three games: One Piece: The Voyage, Crystal of Atland, and Marvel Snap. Reuters claims the TCG hasn’t been a commercial success, but this past fall, Forbes called it the “top-grossing digital trading card game” with over $100M in revenue since its launch a year ago.
As one might expect, the news has caused a lot of concern among Snap players, which prompted Second Dinner to try to assuage worries on Twitter. “We wish to thank you for your concern and assure you that regardless of any changes at Nuverse, Snap will continue to operate and flourish in the future,” the statement reads. “Thank you and happy Snapping!”
It’s here that we point out that Second Dinner (aka the studio founded by Ben Brode of Hearthstone fame) was heavily funded by NetEase. As a result, it’s likely that NetEase or another affiliated publisher will pick up the slack that Nuverse has dropped, especially for a game and license the size of Marvel Snap.
Dear SNAPPERS,
Some of our players have expressed their concerns regarding reported structural changes at Nuverse.
We wish to thank you for your concern and assure you that regardless of any changes at Nuverse, SNAP will continue to operate and flourish in the future!— MARVEL SNAP (@MARVELSNAP) November 27, 2023
