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China Grants Antitrust Clearance for Savvy Games Acquisition of Moonton

China's State Administration for Market Regulation granted unconditional antitrust approval for Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group to acquire video game developer Moonton from ByteDance. The transaction, agreed in March 2026, is valued at over $6 billion. The acquisition transfers ownership of the title Mobile Legends: Bang Bang to the Public Investment Fund subsidiary.

Published Source: UAE-China Chamber of Commerce (UECN)
Issuing authority
State Administration for Market Regulation
Jurisdiction
China
Publication date
November 6, 2026
Effective date
October 29, 2026
Stage
Final rule
Official source
uecn.org
Illustration: Editorial photograph showing modern digital media and technology corporate offices with glowing computer screens and server hardware, in
Illustration

China's State Administration for Market Regulation has granted unconditional antitrust approval for Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group to acquire video game studio Moonton from ByteDance. According to MLQ.ai, the regulatory review concluded on October 29 and was officially released on November 6, satisfying a critical closing requirement.

ByteDance entered into a formal agreement in March 2026 to sell the Shanghai-based studio for more than $6 billion to Savvy Games Group, a wholly owned entity of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). The completion of the deal marks ByteDance's divestment from its core gaming assets.

The transaction transfers ownership of Moonton's flagship title, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which has accumulated 1.5 billion global downloads, placing it under the control of Savvy Games Group as part of a significant Gulf-China digital entertainment investment.

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