Moonton
Documents about Moonton
OPPO, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Extend Partnership
Moonton Games has extended its strategic partnership with mobile phone manufacturer OPPO to support the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports ecosystem throughout 2026.
- Moonton Games has extended its partnership with smartphone manufacturer OPPO to support Mobile Legends: Bang Bang esports throughout 2026.
- The collaboration includes the rebranding of the 'Smooth Legend Cup' into the 'OPPO Hyper Legend Cup,' a collegiate-focused tournament featuring a $100,000 USD prize pool.
- The OPPO Hyper Legend Cup will culminate in a cross-border final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in April 2026, featuring university teams from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Olympic Council of Asia Signs 10-Year Strategic Partnership With Tencent Esports
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has entered into a ten-year strategic partnership with Tencent Esports, designating the company as the official esports technology partner for the organization.
- The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has signed a 10-year strategic partnership naming Tencent Esports as its official esports technology partner.
- Tencent Esports will implement its Tencent Esports Competition System (ECS) to standardize and manage technical operations for upcoming OCA esports competitions.
- Yati Zhang, director of Tencent Esports, has been appointed as the OCA esports manager to oversee the development of the Asian esports event ecosystem.
Savvy Games Group in Talks to Acquire Developers of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
ByteDance is currently in negotiations with Savvy Games Group regarding the potential sale of Moonton Studio, the developer behind the popular mobile title Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
- ByteDance is in early-stage negotiations to sell Moonton Studio, the developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Savvy Games Group.
- ByteDance originally acquired Moonton in 2021 for $4 billion and has previously considered selling the studio as part of a gaming division restructuring.
- Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward has publicly expressed interest in expanding into the Chinese gaming market, aligning with the potential acquisition of Moonton.
ByteDance in Talks With Savvy Games Group to Sell Moonton Games
ByteDance has entered preliminary discussions with Savvy Games Group regarding the potential sale of Moonton Games, the developer behind the popular title Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
- ByteDance is in early-stage talks to sell Moonton Games, the developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to the Saudi Arabian-backed Savvy Games Group.
- ByteDance originally acquired Moonton Games in 2021 at a valuation of approximately $4 billion.
- Savvy Games Group is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and currently holds assets including Scopely, SNK Corporation, and the ESL FACEIT Group.
Esports Nations Cup Adds More Game Makers
The Esports World Cup Foundation has expanded the roster of participating developers for its inaugural Esports Nations Cup, scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has expanded the partner lineup for its inaugural Esports Nations Cup by signing agreements with Chess.com, Moonton Games, and SNK Corporation.
- The Esports Nations Cup is a new biennial tournament property scheduled to hold its first event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November 2026.
- The new partners join an existing roster of developers and publishers for the event, which includes Ubisoft, Tencent Games, Electronic Arts, and Krafton.
Week in Mobile Games E63 - The Esports World Cup unpacked and lightning strikes twice for Supercell
The global mobile gaming landscape is currently defined by a strategic shift toward long-term player retention and the professionalization of esports.
- AppLovin maintains a dominant market position in mobile monetization, reporting a 77% year-over-year revenue increase as it competes with Unity’s new Vector AI ad platform.
- The Saudi Arabian gaming market is projected to reach $6.8 billion in consumption by 2030, driven by government-backed initiatives and the professionalization of mobile esports.
- Supercell’s Clash Royale achieved its most lucrative month in nearly eight years, highlighting the continued revenue potential of revitalizing established intellectual property.
China's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League Signs First Key Partners
Moonton Games has secured its inaugural group of commercial partners for the newly established Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League (MLBBPL) in China.
- Moonton Games has secured its first set of commercial partners for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League (MLBBPL) in China.
- Realme has signed on as the league's strategic partner and official smartphone equipment provider for competing players.
- China Unicom, Durex, and China Minsheng Bank have joined the league as official Chinese special partners.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M6 World Championship Details
Moonton Games has announced the structural details for the upcoming Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M6 World Championship, which will return to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the site of the inaugural 2019 tournament.
- The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M6 World Championship will be hosted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, returning to the city that hosted the inaugural event in 2019.
- The tournament features a total prize pool of $1 million USD for the competing teams.
- The event structure consists of a Wild Card Stage, where eight teams compete for a single slot, followed by a Main Stage featuring 16 international teams.
Chinese Publishers in Live Streaming: Tencent, AI, and Esports
Chinese game publishers are currently navigating a complex landscape defined by regulatory uncertainty, shifting consumer preferences, and a drive toward technological innovation.
- Tencent dominated the Q1 2024 live-streaming landscape with 636 million hours watched, significantly outperforming second-place publisher Moonton, which recorded 101 million hours.
- League of Legends remains the top title for Chinese publishers with 478 million hours watched in Q1 2024, though only 4.9% of this viewership originated from Chinese audiences.
- Mobile gaming continues to gain traction, evidenced by the strong performance of titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (79.9 million hours) and PUBG Mobile (46.6 million hours).
ByteDance May Sell Some of Its Games to Tencent
ByteDance is currently exploring the divestment of its gaming division, Nuverse, as part of a broader corporate restructuring initiated in late 2023.
- ByteDance is negotiating the sale of its gaming division, Nuverse, to potential buyers including Tencent as part of a major corporate restructuring.
- Despite investing approximately 30 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) in gaming M&A between 2019 and 2022, the division contributed less than 1% of ByteDance's $54 billion revenue in the first half of 2023.
- ByteDance is considering the divestment of major assets including the titles Crystal of Atlan and Earth: Revival, as well as Moonton Technology, which was acquired for $4 billion in 2021.
Saudi Arabia: Investments in Global Game Companies
Saudi Arabia is aggressively pursuing a strategy to diversify its oil-dependent economy by establishing a dominant presence in the global video game and esports sectors.
- Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has allocated $37.8 billion to the gaming sector, with $13 billion designated for M&A and $18 billion for minority stake acquisitions.
- The Savvy Games Group aims to establish a domestic gaming hub by 2030, targeting the creation of 250 companies, 39,000 jobs, and a 1% contribution to national GDP.
- Saudi Arabia invested nearly $8 billion over 18 months into major global publishers, including Nintendo, Capcom, Take-Two, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, NCSoft, and Embracer Group.
Moonton’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Receives Game Approval in China
The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) of China officially granted game approval to Moonton’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) in April 2023.
- China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) granted official game approval to Moonton’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) in April 2023, seven years after the game's initial 2016 release.
- The approval was part of a batch of 86 mobile game titles authorized by the NPPA, all of which appear to be domestic releases.
- MLBB is owned by ByteDance and will be published in China by East China Normal University Electronic Audiovisual Press Co., Ltd., the same entity that published Riot Games’ Valorant in December 2022.