ByteDance agrees to sell Moonton to Saudi-backed Savvy in deal valued above $6 billion

ByteDance has agreed to sell Moonton, the studio behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, in a deal that underscores the growing strategic value of mobile esports and gaming IP in global entertainment markets.

ByteDance has agreed to sell Shanghai Moonton Technology to Savvy Games Group, a Saudi Arabian company owned by the Public Investment Fund, according to Reuters. While the companies did not publicly disclose financial terms, a source familiar with the matter said the transaction values Moonton at more than $6 billion. Reuters also noted that ByteDance bought Moonton in 2021 through its gaming arm Nuverse in a deal that valued the company at about $4 billion.

The sale is significant because Moonton is not just another game studio. It is the developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, one of the most commercially successful and competitively important mobile titles in Asia and increasingly in other emerging esports markets. Moonton’s own official materials for Esports World Cup 2026 describe MLBB as returning with a combined prize pool of $3.5 million, underlining the game’s continued weight in the international esports ecosystem.

Reuters reported that the transaction fits ByteDance’s broader strategic retreat from gaming and its stronger focus on artificial intelligence. For Savvy Games Group, however, the acquisition strengthens a very different long-term direction. Savvy chief executive Brian Ward said the deal would reinforce the group’s position in mobile gaming, deepen its talent base, support global expansion and strengthen its esports footprint.

An important operational detail is that Moonton is expected to continue with its current leadership structure. Reuters said Moonton CEO Zhang Yunfan told staff that the company’s management setup would remain unchanged after the sale, suggesting Savvy is buying the business not to dismantle it, but to scale an already proven publishing and esports model.

For the esports industry, the deal matters well beyond corporate ownership. It shows that publishers with strong mobile ecosystems, regional leagues and global championship potential are now being treated as premium strategic assets. In Moonton’s case, that value comes not only from game revenue, but from the staying power of Mobile Legends as a tournament title with a loyal fan base, a structured competitive system and growing international reach. That final assessment is an inference based on Reuters’ reporting and Moonton’s official 2026 esports rollout.