ByteDance Considering Sale of Moonton Technology

According to reports, ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is exploring the possibility of selling Moonton Technology, a Shanghai-based game developer. Insiders have revealed to Reuters that the company has been in discussions with several potential buyers, although ByteDance has chosen not to comment on the matter. These talks come two years after ByteDance acquired Moonton, the studio behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, in a deal valued at $4 billion, marking a significant move for the company in the gaming industry. However, in recent years, ByteDance appears to be scaling back its gaming operations, with significant layoffs in September 2022 and further job cuts in December. This follows a 2021 restructuring that positioned Nuverse, ByteDance's gaming division, which includes Moonton and C4Games, as a key component of the business. Moonton is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Riot Games, which alleges that Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is a clone of its popular game League of Legends. In a recent development, a US court dismissed Riot Games' lawsuit, ruling that the dispute should be heard in a Chinese court. Consequently, Moonton is set to face Riot's parent company, Tencent, in court.