Savvy Games Group to Acquire Moonton in $6B deal

ByteDance Ltd. has agreed to sell Shanghai-based game developer Moonton to Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group in a deal valued at $6 billion USD. Multiple reports on March 20 confirmed that the transaction is expected to close in the near future.

Under the transaction, Savvy, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), will gain control of Moonton’s flagship IP, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), a globally dominant mobile multiplayer title and esports infrastructure. Savvy Games CEO, Brian Ward, discussed that acquiring Moonton would directly support the company’s “mission to drive long-term growth and innovation in games and esports.”

The full financial details of the deal are still undisclosed; however, Moonton CEO Zhang Yunfan has highlighted that the deal would retain Moonton’s current management. Reports noted that employees will be offered incentive programs after the transaction is closed.

For ByteDance, the sale underscores a retreat from gaming following its 2023 restructuring of its Nuverse division. The company acquired Moonton in 2021 for roughly $4B but has since shifted focus toward artificial intelligence and platform-driven growth.

Saudi Further Accelerates Global Gaming Consolidation with Moonton

The Moonton deal aligns with Saudi Arabia’s aggressive push into gaming as part of its Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy. Savvy Games Group, established in 2021, has been tasked with deploying nearly $38B into the sector through acquisitions, investments, and ecosystem development.

PIF has also transferred $3B worth of Take-Two shares to Savvy, further consolidating its influence in the global video game market. As of early 2026, multiple Saudi Arabian companies, such as RTS and MiSK, have been acquiring stakes in multiple global gaming publishers, such as EVO and Capcom, among others.

For Savvy’s new investment, Moonton brings mobile gaming expansion. MLBB has surpassed 1.5B downloads and maintains over 110B monthly active users, with popularity across Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Savvy acquired Monopoly Go maker Scopely for $4.9B in 2023 and backed a $3.5B purchase of Niantic’s gaming division in 2025, demonstrating a unified strategy to enhance its mobile gaming division. The group has also been consolidating esports operations under its subsidiary ESL FACEIT Group.

Savvy’s acquisition of Moonton signals a deepening of Saudi Arabia’s influence in the global games industry, particularly in mobile and esports. Once the transaction closes, Savvy will have minority stakes in most major publishers, including Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, and Square Enix, along with MLBB publisher Moonton.