Savvy Games Group has agreed to acquire Moonton, the mobile game studio owned by ByteDance Ltd, as the Saudi Arabian company expands its mobile gaming portfolio. The deal values Moonton at approximately US$6 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The transaction is expected to close soon, Moonton CEO Zhang Yunfan said in a memo reviewed. Management will remain in place, and employees will be offered incentive programs.
Savvy CEO Brian Ward said the acquisition will strengthen the company’s mobile gaming division and esports presence. Savvy, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s US$1 trillion Public Investment Fund (PIF), is a key part of the kingdom’s push to become a global gaming hub.
Moonton is known for its multiplayer mobile games, particularly Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has been installed more than 1.5 billion times, with strong popularity across Southeast Asia.
Saudi Arabia is also developing a gaming district in Qiddiya City near Riyadh, featuring amusement parks, golf courses, and esports arenas. Savvy previously acquired Scopely, maker of Monopoly GO, in 2023 and agreed to buy Niantic Inc’s Pokémon Go last year for US$3.5 billion.
Mobile gaming now accounts for the majority of global gaming spending, outpacing console and PC games, with Asia expected to drive most of the growth, according to Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report 2025.
ByteDance, which paid around US$4 billion for Moonton in 2021, is selling the studio to focus on generative AI. The company has recently scaled back its gaming operations, including winding down Nuverse, and cutting jobs as it competes with Chinese tech rivals in AI and digital platforms.
A ByteDance spokesperson said, “We are proud of Moonton’s impressive growth into a leading mobile gaming player in Southeast Asia. This transaction marks a natural next step in its journey.”
