Moonton Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Moonton was acquired by Savvy Games Group for $6B in March 2026.

Moonton acquisition price

$6B

Acquired by Savvy Games Group · Mar 2026

Cumulative funding Moonton raised

$500K

across 1 funding round

Key investors in Moonton

  • Challenjers Capital

Moonton Overview

About Moonton

Moonton is a Shanghai-based mobile game developer and publisher. It is best known for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, a multiplayer online battle arena game with a very large player base in Southeast Asia, and also publishes Mobile Legends: Adventure, Magic Rush: Heroes, Watcher of Realms, Magic Chess: Go Go, Acecraft and Silver and Blood. The company earns revenue mainly from in-game purchases and runs an esports ecosystem around its flagship title. It operates offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Latin America, Hong Kong and mainland China. Moonton was founded in 2014 by Justin Yuan and Xu Zhenhua, was owned by ByteDance from 2021 through its Nuverse gaming unit, and was sold to Savvy Games Group in 2026.


Founded

2014

HQ

ChinaShanghai

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Product sales

Valuation

$6B (acquired Mar 2026)

Moonton Acquisition

Moonton was acquired by Savvy Games Group for $6B on 19 March 2026.

Before the acquisition Moonton had raised $500K across 1 funding round.

Savvy Games Group, the games subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, agreed to acquire Moonton from ByteDance for $6 billion in March 2026. Savvy chief executive Brian Ward said the acquisition supports the group's purpose of enabling prosperity and connection through play and its mission to drive long-term growth and innovation in games and esports. ByteDance had bought Moonton in 2021 for about $4 billion through its Nuverse gaming unit, and Reuters had reported advanced sale talks in February 2026. Moonton is a Shanghai-based mobile game developer founded in 2014, best known for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has about 1.5 billion installs worldwide and more than 110 million monthly active users. Its portfolio also includes Watcher of Realms and Magic Rush: Heroes. The deal adds a large mobile title to a Savvy portfolio that already included Scopely and the Niantic games catalogue.

Moonton acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePrice
  • Savvy Games Group
19 Mar 2026Strategic M&A$6B

Sources: gamedeveloper.com, mobilegamer.biz

Moonton Funding History

Moonton has raised a total of $500K across 1 funding round.

Moonton funding rounds

Moonton funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Sep 2014AngelChallenjers Capital$500KChallenjers Capital made an angel investment of about USD 0.5 million in Moonton in September 2014, shortly after the company was founded. Moonton was started in April 2014 in Shanghai by Justin Yuan and Xu Zhenhua as a mobile game developer and publisher. The studio went on to build Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, a multiplayer online battle arena game popular in Southeast Asia. Challenjers Capital is a Beijing-based venture firm founded in 2014 that backs Chinese startups across consumer and industrial sectors. The company was later acquired by ByteDance in 2021 and by Savvy Games Group in 2026.

Who has invested in Moonton?

1 investor has backed Moonton across its funding rounds, including Challenjers Capital.


Moonton Investors

Investors in Moonton by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check

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Moonton Competitors

Moonton competitors include listed companies like Giant Network Group, Bilibili, International Games System and Kingnet Network, and private ones like Animoca Brands and Moon Active.

Public and private companies comparable to Moonton
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Giant Network GroupChinaChinaPublicly listed$757M$310M$6.1B4.1x
Animoca BrandsHong KongHong KongPrivate$140M$97M$5.9B42.1x
BilibiliChinaChinaPublicly listed$4.6B$467M$5.8B0.7x
International Games SystemTaiwanTaiwanPublicly listed$670M$393M$6.3B7.1x
Kingnet NetworkChinaChinaPublicly listed$799M$301M$5.5B3.5x
Moon ActiveIsraelTel AvivPrivate$1.3B-$5B4.0x

Moonton Public Comps

Moonton is no longer listed, but its public comps include Giant Network Group, Bilibili, International Games System, Kingnet Network, 37Games, Square Enix, Krafton, Kunlun, Kingsoft and Talkweb Information Systems.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Giant Network Group$757M$310M6.8x4.1x16.6x8.3x
Bilibili$4.6B$467M0.8x0.7x7.7x5.6x
International Games System$670M$393M8.3x7.1x14.1x11.7x
Kingnet Network$799M$301M5.6x3.5x14.9x10.3x
37Games$2.4B$503M2.1x2.1x10.0x11.8x
Square Enix$1.9B$356M2.8x2.7x15.1x12.9x
Krafton$2.5B$807M2.2x1.6x6.7x4.9x
Kunlun$1.2B($232M)6.1x4.5x(32.4x)(40.0x)

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Common questions about Moonton

When was Moonton founded?Moonton was founded in 2014.
Where is Moonton headquartered?Moonton is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
Is Moonton publicly listed?No, Moonton was acquired by Savvy Games Group in March 2026.
Who acquired Moonton?Moonton was acquired by Savvy Games Group in March 2026.
How much was Moonton acquired for?Moonton was acquired for $6B in March 2026.
How much funding has Moonton raised?Moonton has raised $500K across 1 funding round.
What was Moonton's last funding round?Moonton's last funding round was a $500K angel round in September 2014.
Who are Moonton's investors?Moonton's investors include Challenjers Capital.
Which companies are comparable to Moonton?Companies comparable to Moonton include Giant Network Group, Animoca Brands, Bilibili, International Games System, Kingnet Network and Moon Active.

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