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ByteDance Restructures Gaming Business, Emphasizes Stability

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2024

Reading Time: 3 minutes

On March 14th, according to Chinese media outlet Jiemian News, ByteDance announced through an internal letter that after strategic positioning adjustments, its gaming business will return to the incubation stage. The core of the next phase is to patiently manage stable operations and continue to explore with a mission and vision in a manner consistent with industry development laws.

In terms of organizational structure, ByteDance’s human resources head, Hua Wei, will serve as the head of the gaming business, managing UGC (user-generated content), Moonton, and Nuverse. The former head of Nuverse, Yan Shou, will be transferred to the company’s finance department. UGC is a newly established secondary department, with Luo Ji serving as the department head, reporting to Hua Wei. The former heads of the Block project, Dai Junyi, and the Cell team, Sky, will report to Luo Ji. The former head of ONE distribution studio, Hector, will continue to be responsible for Nuverse’s agency products, with former game technology head Jeffrey and former global business head Rachel Lin reporting to Hector. Hector also reports to Hua Wei.

ONE distribution studio is a studio established by Nuverse in 2022 after integrating domestic and foreign businesses. The heads of Oasis Studio, Wang Kuiwu, and Youai Division, Hu Bing, both report to Hua Wei. This studio evolved from ByteDance’s early “Oasis Plan”, focusing on RPG (role-playing games), strategy, shooting, European and American casual, and card sports games.

The new structural adjustment signifies the end of the “Yan Shou era” in ByteDance’s gaming business.

Yan Shou joined ByteDance’s strategic investment department from Tencent in 2015 and became the head of the business when ByteDance entered the gaming business in 2019. He later served as the head of Nuverse. Since then, the entire ByteDance’s self-developed and agency gaming business has been managed by Yan Shou.

The newly appointed head of the gaming business, Hua Wei, joined ByteDance in 2014, was in charge of investment business, later took on human resource management work, and was responsible for the company’s organization and culture building.

Established in 2019, Nuverse is ByteDance’s game development and distribution business brand. Like ByteDance’s emphasis on globalization, Nuverse also started the internationalization process early. Its overseas releases “RO Wonderland Legend: The Birth of a New Generation” and the Marvel IP card mobile game “MARVEL SNAP” have achieved some success, with “MARVEL SNAP” even winning the 2022 TGA Best Mobile Game Award.

In the domestic market, “Crystal Core”, launched by Nuverse in July last year, is considered its first “hit” self-developed game. Qimai data shows that “Crystal Core” achieved nearly 70 million yuan in revenue on the iOS platform in the first week of its launch and dominated the top ten best-selling list of the App Store for nearly a month.

Unexpectedly, four months later, Nuverse began a large-scale business contraction: seeking to divest games that had been launched and performed well while ensuring operations; for projects that have not yet been launched, except for a few innovative projects and related technical projects, all were shut down.

According to a person close to ByteDance, the contraction action was a decision made after Yan Shou and ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo had discussed it for a long time. Liang Rubo believes that although the gaming business has achieved some success, it has been pursuing “big and complete” for the past few years, with unfocused projects and scattered resources. It should invest energy and resources into more basic, more innovative, and more imaginative projects.

Moonton is a game company that ByteDance acquired for about 4 billion US dollars. After Nuverse’s significant contraction, there were rumors that ByteDance was seeking to sell Moonton Technology for no less than 5 billion US dollars and hired Goldman Sachs as a financial advisor to help find and contact potential buyers.

An insider from Moonton told Jiemian News that Moonton is currently not for sale and is still a wholly-owned subsidiary of ByteDance. Even with the structural adjustments, Moonton still maintains independent operations, and its business has not been affected.

Source: Niko News / pandaily.com

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Meridianbet Doubles Down on Belgium: New Casino License Unlocks €455m Market Segment

Published

1 hour ago

December 22, 2025

George Miller

Editor’s Take

Why this matters: This is a classic “Cross-Sell” play. Meridianbet has already spent seven years building a sports betting database in Belgium. By securing this B+ license, they can now monetize those same users with higher-margin casino products (slots, table games) without needing to acquire new traffic from scratch. With the Belgian casino sector growing at 20% year-over-year, this is a significant revenue unlock for the GMGI portfolio.

The Full Story

Meridianbet, the sports betting and gaming operator owned by Golden Matrix Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GMGI), has successfully expanded its regulatory footprint in Europe by securing a B+ online gaming license in Belgium.

The new license (B+ 4016) authorizes the company to launch a comprehensive online casino platform—featuring slots, table games, and automated live games—starting in January 2026. This move significantly broadens the operator’s capabilities in the country, complementing its existing sports betting operations which have been active in the Belgian market for seven years.

Targeting the Largest Market Segment The strategic rationale behind the license is clear: Casino is now the dominant force in Belgian gambling. According to the Belgian Gaming Commission, the online casino vertical generated €455 million in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) in 2023, representing a 20.2% year-over-year increase.

By entering this vertical, Meridianbet gains access to the largest and fastest-growing segment of a market that generated a total of €944.6 million last year.

Tech-First Entry Meridianbet plans to deploy its proprietary AI Casino Recommender technology for the Belgian launch. This system analyzes player behavior and preferences in real-time to deliver personalized game suggestions, a crucial differentiator in a highly concentrated market where just ten operators account for 94% of all online wagers.

Regulatory Context Belgium is known for having one of Europe’s strictest regulatory frameworks, characterized by rigorous compliance standards and player protection protocols. Securing this license validates Meridianbet’s operational standards and deepens its foothold in a “mature” market that is notoriously difficult for new entrants to penetrate.

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LinkDataMedia Drops ‘Startup’ Look with Major 5th Anniversary Rebrand

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2025

George Miller

Editor’s Take

Why this matters: In the iGaming affiliate space, the five-year mark is a critical survival threshold. Many media startups fade away before reaching it. LinkDataMedia’s decision to rebrand now is a classic “graduation” signal. By shedding their startup skin for a more corporate, “blue-chip” aesthetic (the stability-focused blue triangle), they are telling operators and partners that they are no longer just an affiliate project, but a stable infrastructure partner ready for larger commercial deals.

The Full Story

LinkDataMedia, the parent company behind the popular affiliate portal Gamblers Connect, has announced a comprehensive corporate rebrand to coincide with its fifth anniversary.

The overhaul includes a completely refreshed brand identity, a redesigned logo, and a fully revamped website, all of which are now live. The move is described by the company not as a mere cosmetic update, but as a strategic pivot designed to distance the business from its “startup roots” and reflect its current status as an established player in the competitive iGaming media landscape.

Visualizing Maturity The new visual language features a modernized blue triangular logo, a shape chosen to represent “stability and forward momentum.” The digital user experience has also been streamlined, offering partners a cleaner interface that aligns better with the company’s matured operational capabilities.

Management Commentary Gjorgje Ristikj, Founder and CEO of LinkDataMedia, commented on the significance of hitting the half-decade milestone in such a volatile industry:

“Surviving the first five years in business takes more than luck. It takes belief, resilience, and the right people around you. This milestone, and the rebrand, reflect exactly that.”

Implementation The new branding has already been deployed across the main corporate website and is currently being rolled out across LinkDataMedia’s social media channels and internal communication platforms. As the company enters its sixth year, the refreshed identity aims to set the stage for a new phase of expansion and innovation.

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Win Systems to Debut New ‘Gold Club Colors’ and WIGOS Upgrades at ICE Barcelona

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2025

George Miller

Editor’s Take

Why this matters: As ICE makes its historic move to Barcelona, established tech providers like Win Systems are under pressure to bring their “A-game” to the larger venue. The focus here isn’t just on cabinets; it’s the ecosystem. By highlighting WIGOS (their CMS) alongside WIN PAY, Win Systems is positioning itself as an infrastructure partner, not just a hardware supplier. The debut of the Gold Club Colors roulette specifically targets the growing demand for visually customizable electronic table games (ETGs).

The Full Story

Win Systems, the global provider of technology for the gaming and entertainment industry, has confirmed its product roadmap for ICE Barcelona 2026, the sector’s most significant international event taking place from January 19 to 21.

Exhibiting at Stand 3M30 at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via, the company will leverage the new venue to showcase a broad portfolio designed to cover the entire casino floor—from management systems to the gaming floor itself.

Systems and Fintech At the core of the showcase is WIGOS, the company’s flagship Casino Management System (CMS). WIGOS is widely recognized for connecting thousands of machines across multiple countries, and the Barcelona display will focus on advanced tools that streamline daily operations and optimize player retention.

Complementing the CMS, Win Systems will present WIN PAY, its secure transaction platform. As cashless and seamless payment solutions become standard requirements for operators, WIN PAY offers the necessary efficiency and security controls for modern gaming environments.

Hardware: Roulette and Slots On the hardware side, Win Systems is refreshing its electronic table game offering with the new Gold Club Colors electronic roulette. The Gold Club line has long been a staple in the company’s portfolio, known for its compact footprint and reliability; the “Colors” iteration promises to maximize visual impact on the floor.

Alongside the roulette, the company will display its latest slot hardware, including the Sublime and Rhapsody cabinets. These units are designed to house the company’s extensive game library, which has been adapted to suit diverse market profiles from Europe to Latin America.

Strategic Goals Win Systems aims to use the three-day event to reinforce its 30-year legacy in the industry. The company described its participation as a commitment to “continuous innovation,” inviting operators and regulators to explore how their integrated solutions can improve in-room performance.

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