Savvy Games is buying Mobile Legends studio Moonton from ByteDance for $6 billion

Savvy Games Group is acquiring Moonton, the studio behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, from ByteDance in a deal valued at about $6 billion. According to Bloomberg’s report, the sale is expected to be finalized in the near future.

The report says Moonton’s current leadership will stay in place, and existing employees will be offered incentive programs as part of the deal. That lines up with earlier reports that ByteDance was in advanced talks to sell the company after confirming in 2024 that it was exploring a sale of its games business.

For Savvy, the purchase adds one of the biggest names in mobile MOBAs to its portfolio. Mobile Legends is especially popular in Southeast Asia and has a major esports presence, which helps explain why Savvy is framing the deal around both mobile games and competitive gaming.

Savvy Games Group is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which already has investments across the games business, including stakes in Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon, Take-Two, Activision Blizzard, and Koei Tecmo.

There are no announced changes to Mobile Legends itself in the sale report, at least not yet. For players, the immediate takeaway is mostly about ownership: Moonton is changing hands, but the studio’s leadership is reportedly staying put while the deal closes.