Tencent turns to ByteDance in gaming showdown with NetEase
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.
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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.
About 38% of Tencent ads for DreamStar were put on ByteDance's online ad service Pangolin in the last 30 days, making it the top ad service Tencent has spent on for the game, according to data tracking firm DataEye.
Its decision to rely heavily on Pangolin is remarkable considering that Tencent has its own ad network and various promotion channels within its product ecosystem.
Tencent has put only 12% of DreamStar ads on its own ad network Youlianghui, according to DataEye.
The advertising layout is part of Tencent's plans for a
