Cellular Legends: Bang Bang developer MOONTON has been bought from ByteDance to Savvy Video games Group for $6 billion.
A report by Bloomberg shared that the settlement has been signed however the transaction has not been absolutely finalized. MOONTON CEO Zhang Yunfan famous that administration groups will stay and workers might be supplied incentive packages.
Why was MOONTON bought?
In 2021, MOONTON was valued at $4 billion and turned down the deal. Nonetheless, it appears that evidently ByteDance has determined to undergo with the sale in any case just a few years later.
That is a part of ByteDance’s continued pivot from video video games to AI and different expertise. In 2023, one other one in all its gaming manufacturers, Nuverse, skilled large layoffs.
A part of the rationale for a pivot away from video games is China’s continued strict laws on on-line gaming. This has led to decrease market share in online game firms in China. In 2025, Cellular Legends: Bang Bang generated $158.2 million, which is the bottom it has been in years.
Savvy, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF), has been doing the other: it has continued to develop its footprint in esports and aggressive gaming. In 2021, it invested $265 million into Hero Esports. It additionally purchased Niantic’s Pokémon GO final 12 months for $3.5 billion.
Now, with MLBB acquired, Savvy is trying to purchase EA FC Sports activities’ recreation developer, Digital Arts, for $55 billion.
Saudi Arabian firms have been closely investing within the esports scene, together with the continued enlargement of the Esports World Cup and Nations Cup. With MLBB one of many most-viewed titles within the EWC, this transfer comes as no shock.
