ByteDance-backed game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang confirmed as first to join Esports World Cup
- Esports teams playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, including those from China, will battle it out for a combined prize pool of US$3.5 million during the tournament
- A slowing economy and fierce competition have forced ByteDance to shift its focus, and it is reportedly in talks to sell Moonton, which it acquired in 2021
Popular multiplayer online battle arena game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, developed by ByteDance-owned studio Moonton, will be the first competitive title in the upcoming Esports World Cup.
Moonton confirmed its participation in the global event despite the fact that parent ByteDance, the owner of TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin, decided to scale back its video game business late last year. The company has been in talks to sell several gaming operations, including Moonton.
Esports teams playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, including those from China, will battle it out for a combined prize pool of US$3.5 million during the tournament, which is set to kick off in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, in the summer, according to a Tuesday statement on Moonton’s official website.
The organiser, the non-profit Esports World Cup Foundation, has not disclosed the exact date of the event, but it said it will likely take place “during the months of July and August”.
Both sides “signed a multi-year cooperation agreement”, said the Shanghai-based game developer. The tournament, inaugurated this year, will be a recurring annual event, the organiser said.
Moonton chief executive Justin Yuan said the partnership “strengthens its ties with key markets such as Europe, the Americas and the Middle East”.
Since its release in 2016, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has amassed 110 million monthly active users worldwide. In 2021, ByteDance acquired Moonton in a deal valuing the firm at US$4 billion, a move meant to give ByteDance a foothold in the overseas gaming market, especially Southeast Asia.