ByteDance and Sea reportedly make gaming layoffs

Major technology companies ByteDance, Sea, and Snap have all reportedly made significant gaming-related layoffs.

The changes: They're all reducing staff and gaming-related operations.

• TikTok parent company ByteDance is "aggressively downsizing" its gaming operations with hundreds of staff affected, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
• Garena parent company Sea has laid off "dozens of people" following a loss of $1B in the latest quarter, as reported by Reuters. Streaming app Booyah! is going to be scrapped, as per the report, with between 30 and 40 people being laid off from the company.
• Snap is laying off 1,300 people — approximately 20% of its workforce — and its gaming division is heavily impacted by the decision, as reported by Engadget.

Something in the water: These layoffs follow a slew of other similar cost-cutting efforts from gaming and esports businesses.

• A common thread is that the layoffs largely affect the companies' gaming divisions. Snap told investors that it won't work on projects that don't fit in with three pillars: community growth, revenue growth and augmented reality.
• A Sea spokesperson told Reuters that the layoffs were made to "improve efficiency in [their] operations" with a focus on the "long-term strength of our ecosystem." It's no secret by now that many, if not all, companies in gaming are restrategizing as they brace for a tough economic downturn.
• "Unfortunately, given our current lower rate of revenue growth, it has become clear that we must reduce our cost structure to avoid incurring significant ongoing losses," said Snap CEO Evan Spiegel.