At the end of 2023, ByteDance announced a restructuring in the gaming division: she decided to close the publisher Nuverse and sell some assets, including the Moonton studio, known for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Bloomberg, citing Core Esports, reported that the company recently partially changed its plans and refused to sell Moonton.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
According to media reports, Moonton's management is planning a reshuffle. It is claimed that the co—founder and CEO of the studio, Justin Yuan, will resign, and Yunfan Zhang, the former president of Perfect World, will take his place.
It is unclear why ByteDance might have changed its mind about selling Moonton. Earlier it was reported that she was unhappy with the studio's income.
Moonton representatives declined to comment to Bloomberg about the future of the studio. Representatives of ByteDance did not respond to the request.
ByteDance acquired Moonton in March 2021, when the studio was valued at $ 4 billion.
According to the South China Morning Post, in 2024, ByteDance sold at least three gaming studios: Gravity Studio, Jiangnan Studio and C4Games. The latest deal was announced in early May. China Ruyi Holdings, partially controlled by Tencent, bought C4Games from ByteDance for 259 million yuan ($35.8 million).