ByteDance is once again in serious discussions to sell Shanghai Moonton Technology, the studio behind global mobile hit Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group, according to people familiar with the matter.
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From $4 Billion Acquisition to Exit Strategy
ByteDance bought Moonton in March 2021 for roughly $4 billion, marking one of the largest gaming deals of that year.
The purchase was part of an ambitious plan to challenge Tencent's dominance in China's gaming market through the newly created Nuverse publishing division.
Those ambitions quickly faded.
Strict Chinese gaming regulations, lengthy approval delays, and disappointing performance of most titles forced ByteDance to wind down Nuverse in late 2023, lay off around 1,000 gaming staff, and begin shopping Moonton to potential buyers.
Why the Sale Talks Restarted Now
ByteDance's Strategic Pivot
After abandoning mainstream game development, ByteDance is now fully focused on artificial intelligence, short-video platforms, and resolving U.S. regulatory pressure on TikTok.
Selling Moonton removes a non-core asset and brings in cash at a time when the company faces a possible forced divestiture of TikTok's American operations by January 2026.
Saudi Arabia's Aggressive Gaming Push
Savvy Games Group, wholly owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), has pledged $37.8 billion to make the kingdom a global gaming and esports hub under Vision 2030.
Past deals include the $4.9 billion purchase of Scopely (Monopoly Go!) in 2023 and ongoing talks to acquire Electronic Arts.
Adding Mobile Legends – the top-grossing mobile game across Southeast Asia with a massive esports ecosystem – would instantly give Savvy one of the strongest mobile titles outside China and the U.S.
Deal Status and Hurdles
Negotiations are described as advanced but no final agreement has been reached.
The two sides previously walked away in late 2023 mainly because of disagreement over price.
The current valuation is not public, though it is widely expected to be lower than the original $4 billion ByteDance paid.
Any transaction would still require approval from Chinese regulators for outbound investment, while U.S. national-security scrutiny is considered unlikely given Mobile Legends' limited presence in America.
What It Means for Players and the Industry
For the estimated 100 million monthly players, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines, day-to-day gameplay is unlikely to change.
Savvy has deep pockets to expand prize pools and host larger international events, potentially including tournaments in Riyadh.
The deal, if completed, would mark another milestone in Saudi Arabia's rapid rise as a major force in global gaming and further highlight China-based tech giants scaling back from the sector.
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Editor's Comments
Four years is an eternity in mobile gaming. ByteDance's quick exit from a $4 billion bet shows how brutally fast priorities can shift when regulatory winds change – first in Beijing, now in Washington.
For Savvy Games, Mobile Legends is arguably the best remaining "crown jewel" still available at a negotiable price: a proven live-service game with huge revenue in emerging markets and an esports scene that already runs like clockwork.
Prediction:
Unless China suddenly tightens outbound gaming deals again, this sale will close in 2026 at around $2.5–3 billion.
Southeast Asian players will grumble about "Saudi ownership" on social media for a week, then move on when the next big skin drops.
The bigger story is that the Middle East is quietly becoming the new safe harbor for flagship Asian gaming IP.