ByteDance has reportedly agreed to sell Moonton Games, to Savvy Games Group, according to a report in Bloomberg.
[Update: Savvy also confirmed that it signed an agreement with ByteDance to acquire Moonton, for over $6 billion].
Bloomberg reported $6 billion, but we believe the value is about $6.75 billion for the creator of games such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
China-based ByteDance has also agreed to sell its U.S. version of TikTok to an American-based investment group.
This deal is consistent with our story that ran today on Savvy Games Group. In that interview from GDC last week, Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward said “no way” when I asked if he planned to slow down the pace of acquisitions at Savvy.
Savvy Games Group has been the tip of the spear for Saudia Arabia’s rapid expansion into gaming.
It was started by parent firm Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in January 2021 under the leadership of gaming veteran Brian Ward, acquiring esports firms ESL and Face-It in 2022 and taking a stake in VSPO.
Then Savvy acquired big gaming companies including Scopely ($4.9 billion in April 2023) and Scopely in turn bought Niantic ($3.5 billion in March 2025). Savvy invested a large sum in Moonton this year.
Also, the Public Investment Fund is also part of a consortium acquiring Electronic Arts for $55 billion and Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion.
Moonton was established in 2014. Its Mobile Legends: Bang Bang title is a staple multiplayer online battle arena game with more than 1.5 billion installs. It has a total monthly player base of more than 110 million people. The company has more than 2,000 people. The deal takes Savvy deeper into the Asia-based market, where it already owns 30% of Hero Esports.
In a statement, Ward said, “This acquisition directly supports Savvy’s purpose to enable prosperity and connection through play for generations to come, and our mission to drive long-term growth and innovation in games and esports. Once completed, it will further strengthen our leadership in mobile games, deepen our talent pool, expand our global footprint, and enhance our reach across esports.”
After the deal is completed. Zhang Yunfan will remain as CEO of Moonton and the management team will be unchanged. The deal is expected to close in the coming months.