Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group (Savvy) has reached a definitive agreement with ByteDance to acquire 100% of Shanghai-based Moonton Games (Moonton) for over $6 billion, according to multiple media reports on March 20. Moonton CEO Zhang Yunfan confirmed the signing of the agreement with Savvy in an internal letter on the same day, stating that the transaction is expected to be completed in the near future. Post-acquisition, Moonton will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Savvy, retaining its current management structure, with Zhang Yunfan continuing as CEO.
In February, Reuters reported that ByteDance had reached a final agreement with Savvy, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), to sell Moonton. The parties had reached a preliminary consensus on key terms, with the deal anticipated to close as early as the first quarter of 2026.
ByteDance's entry into the gaming industry began in 2018, when it launched gaming accounts and features within its Jinri Toutiao and Douyin apps. In January 2019, it established the brand "Nuverse" to formally enter the gaming arena. The following February, the company consolidated resources by forming an independent gaming division and setting up studios in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen.
The year 2021 marked a key period of aggressive expansion for ByteDance's gaming business. In March of that year, Nuverse acquired Moonton Games for $4 billion. Founded in 2014, Moonton's product portfolio includes titles such as *Mobile Legends: Bang Bang*, *Watcher of Realms*, and *Silver and Blood*. *Mobile Legends: Bang Bang* is considered Moonton's core competitive asset and a primary driver of the acquisition's value. Since its launch in 2016, the game has maintained a dominant position as a national favorite in Southeast Asia. Supported by a mature esports ecosystem and deep localization efforts, it remains a leading MOBA title in the region and is recognized as one of the world's most successful mobile MOBA games.
The 2021 acquisition was seen as a demonstration of ByteDance's commitment to making a significant investment in the gaming sector, quickly establishing a foothold in the overseas market. Moonton subsequently became a key strategic asset for ByteDance in the global gaming landscape.
A shift occurred in 2022 as ByteDance entered a period of overall contraction and adjustment, emphasizing a strategy of "increasing leanness and reducing fat." The previously rapid expansion of its gaming business began to slow. Against this backdrop, Moonton's development faced increasing pressure. In November 2023, ByteDance announced a major scaling back of Nuverse, involving significant project cancellations and staff reductions, effectively retreating from the forefront of in-house game development. Around the same time, market rumors suggested ByteDance was seeking to sell Moonton for no less than $5 billion. The final transaction price of over $6 billion with Savvy exceeds ByteDance's initial target, resulting in a paper profit of over $2 billion for the company.
"After several years of delays, Moonton has finally been sold," said an internet industry analyst. For ByteDance, this divestment sheds an asset that, while profitable, had weaker strategic synergy with its core business, and the final price was higher than expected. For the Saudi side, it represents the successful acquisition of a globally influential hit esports game.
The analyst further noted that with Moonton and its associated esports ecosystem, Saudi Arabia gains a tangible industrial foundation for its vision of building a second economic pillar beyond oil. Furthermore, expanding the esports industry chain based on this acquisition helps mitigate risks associated with the control of mainstream esports games being concentrated in the hands of a few major developers.
Notably, gaming and esports hold significant importance within Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" framework. In recent years, Savvy has been highly active in the gaming sector: in 2025, it partnered with Silver Lake to acquire mobile gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) for $55 billion in an all-cash deal; in 2023, it acquired mobile social gaming giant Scopely, owner of *Monopoly GO!*, for $4.9 billion; and in 2022, it purchased esports organizer ESL Gaming and tournament platform FACEIT for $1.5 billion. Savvy also holds substantial stakes in prominent Japanese and Korean developers such as Nintendo, Capcom, and Nexon. The acquisition of Moonton now adds a crucial piece to Savvy's portfolio in the Southeast Asian market.