Tencent turns to ByteDance in gaming showdown with NetEase

In a battle to defend its status as China’s biggest gaming firm, Tencent has chosen to promote DreamStar on ByteDance’s popular advertising platforms despite the two’s rancorous history in barring one another from their platforms. — Reuters

HONG KONG: Tencent Holdings is relying on one-time bitter rival ByteDance to promote its most important video game release in years, in a sign of warming relations as well as intensifying competition as China’s gaming industry returns to growth.

Tencent released on Friday mobile party game DreamStar that it hopes to challenge Eggy Party, a similar offering from NetEase which has become a surprise hit this year with 100 million monthly active users.