Alibaba Group Holding is selling Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm affiliated with CITIC Capital.

The deal may value the gaming unit at more than US$1.5 billion, according to an internal memo distributed on August 17.

The sale reflects Alibaba’s push to shift resources to AI and cloud computing.

Lingxi chief executive Zhou Bingshu said Alibaba was handing the studio to Trustar to focus on its strategic priorities.

The studio, founded in 2018, is best known for Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition.

Trustar said it manages US$9.59 billion and has completed more than 100 investments.

The sale is part of a broader overhaul under chief executive Eddie Wu, who has said Alibaba would monetise non-core assets while prioritising AI and cloud.

Lingxi had already shut down its in-house Ant Engine project, and any change to the publisher of record for its games after the sale could require regulatory updates in China.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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