ByteDance sells Moonton Technology for $6 billion, Zhang Yunfan continues as CEO of Moonton

On March 20, according to Jiemian News, ByteDance announced that it has reached a final agreement to sell Mu Tong Technology to Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), for over $6 billion.

This marks the end of the acquisition rumors.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Mu Tong Technology officially released an internal letter, announcing that Savvy Games Group has officially acquired Mu Tong Technology. It is understood that after the transaction is completed, Zhang Yunfan will continue to serve as CEO of Mu Tong.

According to the internal letter, ByteDance will provide multiple incentive plans for Mu Tong employees. Additionally, based on future performance, new attractive incentive schemes will be introduced.

Mu Tong Technology was founded in 2014. Its product, MLBB, quickly captured the Southeast Asian market upon launch. Official data shows that as of 2023, MLBB has over 110 million monthly active users and more than 1.465 billion total registered users. Market-wise, MLBB has the largest user base in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. According to Sensor Tower data, MLBB remains among the top 20 mobile games in China in terms of revenue.

In 2021, ByteDance acquired Mu Tong Technology for about $4 billion (approximately 28.99 billion RMB). However, with ByteDance’s gaming business adjustments, there have been multiple reports of Mu Tong Technology being sold.

ByteDance’s full acquisition of Mu Tong Technology for $4 billion was a major event in the gaming industry in 2021. At that time, ByteDance was expanding its gaming division, launching projects like Chao Xi Guang Nian, and within a year, acquiring teams such as Shanghai Mo Kun and You Ai Interactive. On March 22, 2021, Mu Tong Technology announced it had reached a strategic acquisition agreement with ByteDance, integrating into ByteDance while maintaining independent operations.

After being acquired by ByteDance, Mu Tong Technology did not advance as expected, especially in the domestic market, where it did not threaten the dominance of Honor of Kings.

As ByteDance’s gaming business contracted, Mu Tong’s position within ByteDance became somewhat “awkward.” At that time, CEO Yuan Jing publicly responded internally: since joining ByteDance in 2021, Mu Tong has maintained independent operations, and the group has provided us with enough space and support. Despite some external changes, Mu Tong’s operational autonomy has not changed.

However, just a year later, in May 2024, former Perfect World gaming president Zhang Yunfan took over as head of Mu Tong Technology.

In April this year, there were reports that ByteDance planned to package Mu Tong Technology and Chao Xi Guang Nian for an independent game business IPO. ByteDance officials later denied these plans, stating “there are no plans to go public.”

Subsequently, news emerged that Saudi giant Savvy Games Group was acquiring Mu Tong Technology, and now the deal has finally been finalized.

Public information shows that Savvy Games Group, established in 2022 by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is a platform for investment and operation in the gaming and esports industry, covering game publishing and development, esports tournaments, and more.

Game industry analyst Zhang Shule said that ByteDance selling Mu Tong was no secret, and a company with hits like “Endless Duel” is profitable but not compatible with ByteDance’s gaming strategy. Selling is also a way to correct their development direction. Saudi Arabia has been actively developing the esports economy, aiming to create a second battlefield outside the oil economy. Currently, Saudi Arabia has laid the groundwork for esports Olympics and esports teams, urgently needing a proprietary esports hit to build a differentiated moat in global esports competitions. Since ByteDance wants to sell and Saudi Arabia wants to buy, the price is no longer an issue.