Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which made its name globally as the company behind TikTok, has become one of the leading technology companies in its country, operating in a wide range of areas from video games to artificial intelligence.

China-made Steam is coming

The company has now taken an ambitious step to strengthen its presence in the gaming world. ByteDance is developing a new gaming platform called GameTop. This platform is being developed not only for the Chinese market but also for the global market, aiming to directly compete with the current market leader, Steam.

Reports from the Chinese press indicate that ByteDance has begun hiring for the GameTop project. The company is focusing on two key areas to differentiate the new platform from established competitors like Steam and Epic Games: AI-powered features and social interaction.

ByteDance plans to build a platform that offers gamers a personalized experience. It is also building an ecosystem powered by AI tools where users can create and share their own content.

Steam, which has revitalized the PC gaming market, currently holds a $74% market share. Steam, with $132 million monthly active users, generated $9.8 billion in revenue in 2024 alone. This makes it natural for other companies to aspire to similar success.

However, Steam’s established dominance in the industry makes it difficult for new entrants to compete. ByteDance is banking on the transformative power of artificial intelligence in this fierce competition. The proliferation of AI-generated games could create a demand for a new platform on which to produce and distribute such games. By meeting this demand, GameTop paves the way for its own brand to compete against Steam.

Furthermore, the company says it will focus on mobile gaming at GameTop. This move stands out as another key formula for success against Steam’s current dominance. ByteDance’s initiative is ushering in a new wave of competition in the digital game distribution market.