ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, just announced its biggest acquisition to date. The Chinese tech company just bought Moonton Technology, the game developer and publisher of the worldwide hit multiplayer online battle “Mobile Legends.”
ByteDance acquired Moonton through its video game subsidiary Nuverse. The decision to purchase the gaming studio is part of the company’s aim to further expand in the video games business.
The value of the deal
As mentioned on Reuters, ByteDance purchased Moonton for $4 billion, and this huge investment is to start growing the company’s video game division and become Tencent, another Chinese company, a competitor in the field.
“Through cross-team collaboration and drawing on lessons and insights from its own rapid growth, Moonton provides the strategic support needed to accelerate Nuverse’s global gaming offerings,” the TikTok owner said in a statement.
While Moonton Technolgy is now owned by ByteDance, it was reported that it will still continue to run independently. This information surfaced after Moonton’s CEO, Yuan Jing’s memo to its employees, stated that the company would operate separately from the Beijing-headquartered tech firm after the acquisition process is completed.
In any case, Moonton was founded by a former employee of Tencent. The company’s most famous and biggest game in Southeast Asia is its “Mobile Legends'' online game. Thus, with the deal, this game title is now under ByteDance and could compete with Tencent’s “League of Legends.”
Taking on Tencent with the acquisition
Moonton’s “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang” already has more than 1 billion downloads in November 2020, and this figure apparently gives ByteDance, a game that it can use to take on its rivals in the gaming and esports scene. It is not just Tencent, but the company can now compete with other leading gaming firms now.
“Moonton is definitely ByteDance’s best purchase as yet, whether in terms of scale or reputation in the industry,” South China Morning Post quoted Liao Xuhua, an analyst from Beijing market research firm, as saying. “In the short term, Moonton can very effectively strengthen ByteDance’s gaming business.


TSMC Exits Arm Holdings with $231 Million Share Sale Amid Strategic Portfolio Shift
Pershing Square Raises $5 Billion in Landmark U.S. IPO and Share Placement
Microsoft Azure Growth Forecast Beats Expectations Amid Rising AI Competition
Ford Q1 Earnings Beat Expectations, Stock Surges on Strong Guidance
Google Secures Pentagon AI Deal for Classified Projects
Seagate Stock Surges After Strong Q3 Earnings Beat and Bullish Outlook
Samsung Reports Record Profit as AI Boom Drives Memory Chip Demand
Apple Q2 2026 Earnings Surge as iPhone 17 Sales Drive Record Revenue
Starbucks Raises 2026 Outlook as Turnaround Strategy Boosts Sales and Earnings
Qualcomm Stock Surges Despite Weak Guidance After Q2 2026 Earnings Beat
China’s Ultra-Cheap EV Boom: Why Electric Cars Cost Far Less Than in the U.S.
Air Liquide Q1 Revenue Misses Estimates Amid Currency and Energy Headwinds
Amazon Stock Dips Despite Record Earnings as AI Infrastructure Spending Surges
Why Paycom Was Named a 2026 Platinum Employer on the Where You Work Matters List
Novartis Q1 2026 Earnings Miss Expectations as Generic Competition Pressures Sales
U.S. Cybersecurity Pushes Faster Patch Deadlines Amid Rising AI-Driven Threats
T-Mobile Beats Q1 Earnings Expectations on Strong Postpaid Growth 



