The Savvy Games Group, owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, has reached an agreement to acquire the Chinese gaming studio Moonton from ByteDance Ltd. This strategic move strengthens Savvy’s position in the global mobile gaming market, valuing Moonton at $6 billion.
This is reported by Finway
Savvy Games Group Strategy and Esports Development
According to Moonton’s CEO Zhang Yunfan, the company’s management will retain their positions, and employees will be offered incentive programs. The deal is expected to close soon. Savvy’s CEO Brian Ward emphasized that this acquisition aims to bolster the mobile gaming division and expand its influence in the esports arena. Savvy, which manages assets exceeding $1 trillion, is executing Saudi Arabia’s ambitious plan to transform the country into a leader in the gaming industry.
Moonton is known for its multiplayer mobile games, particularly the highly popular Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has been downloaded over 1.5 billion times, mostly in Southeast Asia. During the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March, Ward noted that Saudi Arabia aims to become a global hub for gamers, including through the development of a gaming district in Qiddiya City near Riyadh, featuring entertainment parks, golf courses, and esports arenas.
ByteDance Shifts Focus While Savvy Expands Portfolio
In 2023, Savvy acquired Scopely, known for the mobile game Monopoly GO, and also agreed to purchase Pokémon Go from Niantic Inc. for $3.5 billion. According to a Newzoo analytical report, mobile gaming is the primary driver of growth in the gaming industry, particularly in Asia, outpacing console and PC segments.
“We take pride in Moonton’s impressive growth and its establishment as a leading player in the mobile gaming market in Southeast Asia,” said ByteDance. “This deal is a natural next step in its development.”
ByteDance, which acquired Moonton for $4 billion in 2021, has decided to sell the studio to focus on developing generative artificial intelligence. The owner of TikTok has recently been reducing its workforce and shutting down the gaming platform Nuverse due to failures in competing with Tencent Holdings Ltd. and other Chinese tech giants in the AI sector.
In September of last year, Electronic Arts Inc. agreed to be acquired by a group of investors that included the Saudi Public Investment Fund, marking the largest leveraged buyout in history. The Saudi fund also holds a stake in Nintendo Co.