ByteDance sells game studio to Saudi-owned firm for over $6b

ByteDance had agreed to sell Shanghai Moonton Technology to Savvy Games Group, a Riyadh-based gaming firm owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Moonton is the Shanghai studio behind the mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

The companies did not disclose financial terms, but a person familiar with the matter told Reuters the transaction valued Moonton at more than US$6 billion.

Reuters reported in February that ByteDance was in advanced talks to sell Moonton in a deal valued between US$6 billion and US$7 billion.

The deal comes as ByteDance is doubling down on its AI business by developing proprietary chips and releasing improved large language models.

According to an internal letter seen by Reuters, Moonton’s CEO Zhang Yunfan said he would continue to lead the company and that the management structure would remain unchanged.

Brian Ward, Savvy Games Group CEO, said the deal would “further strengthen our leadership in mobile games, deepen our talent pool, expand our global footprint, and enhance our reach across esports.”

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The buyer is backed by a US$38 billion national gaming strategy

Savvy Games Group holds Saudi Arabia’s “National Champion for Games and Esports” mandate, a state-backed push to raise the country’s profile in video games and competitive gaming (esports) 1.
Saudi Arabia has earmarked US$38 billion for games investing, with a 2030 goal to become a global gaming hub 2, 3.
The Moonton buy continues a run of large purchases, including a US$4.9 billion deal for mobile developer Scopely, the U.S. studio behind the hit mobile game Monopoly Go 4.
The group is also pulling together the kingdom’s existing holdings held by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund. Those minority stakes include Nintendo; Nexon; Koei Tecmo; Square Enix 5.

ByteDance’s gaming retreat creates opportunities for cash-rich buyers

The sale follows ByteDance’s pullback from gaming, including a late-2023 restructuring of its Nuverse games unit 6.
Offloading Moonton lets ByteDance concentrate resources on AI and its flagship social media apps. The company has also faced U.S. geopolitical pressure to reshape TikTok’s U.S. operations 7.
A seller under internal strain and external scrutiny is meeting a well-funded buyer that is moving fast 6.
Chinese tech giants are shedding non-core overseas holdings, which can open more targets for Savvy as it builds its gaming lineup 5.