Moonton
Shanghai Moonton Technology Co. Ltd., commonly known as Moonton, is a Chinese video game company dedicated to gaming development, publication, and esports. The company operates offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Latin America, Hong Kong, and mainland China, among other locations.
In October 2021, ByteDance acquired Moonton and it remains to operate independently. In 2024, Yunfan Zhang became the CEO of Moonton.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is a mobile multiplayer online battle arena game developed by Moonton. As of 2025, it has been reported to have over 1.5 billion registered users and around 110 million monthly active players. The game has ranked among the top ten most-played mobile games in more than 80 countries. It is distributed globally and maintains an international esports presence with professional leagues and tournaments across multiple regions.
In 2026, MLBB Esports will transition to a five-region structure—Southeast Asia ; Eastern Europe and Central Asia ; Europe, the Middle East and Africa ; East Asia ; and the Americas. This framework unifies the global MLBB Esports ecosystem while empowering each region through tailored infrastructure and talent development pathways.
The M7 World Championship, held January 3-25, 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia, became the most-watched mobile esports tournament in history. According to , the Grand Finals reached over 5.68 million peak concurrent viewers—a new record for mobile esports.
History
Moonton was launched in Shanghai, China in July 2014. The company's first commercial release came in April 2015 with Magic Rush: Heroes, a role-playing game that launched worldwide excluding the domestic Chinese market. Following the completion of Magic Rush: Heroes, Moonton began development for a multiplayer online battle arena game. Moonton launched Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in November 2016, released worldwide excluding mainland China, and became popular in Southeast Asia, notably in Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia, where it was the most-downloaded free mobile game app among iPhone users in 2017. The game is distributed by Skystone in the United States.In 2017, Moonton began building its esports ecosystem with its first MLBB offline esports tournament in Indonesia in May, followed by the inaugural MSC in September. In November 2017, the company launched the Mobile Legends Professional League in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, expanding to the Philippines in March 2018 and Myanmar in February 2019.
The company established regional offices, opening its Singapore branch in May 2018 and Indonesian branch in October 2018. By April 2018, MLBB had exceeded 200 million total registered accounts, growing to over 1 billion cumulative downloads by October 2020, with peak monthly active users exceeding 100 million.
In August 2019, Moonton launched Mobile Legends: Adventure worldwide, excluding Japan, Korea, and mainland China.
In November 2019, the first Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Global Championship was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 16 teams participating from 14 countries.
In December 2019, MLBB officially became a medal sport at the 30th Southeast Asian Games, marking its recognition as a legitimate competitive sport in the region.
On March 22, 2021, ByteDance agreed to acquire gaming studio Moonton at a valuation of around $4 billion.
MPL expanded internationally to Brazil and Cambodia in July 2021. By August 2021, MLBB's total registered accounts exceeded 1 billion. The company diversified its content offerings, launching "Legends of Dawn - The Sacred Stone," the first MLBB animation series in August 2021, which accumulated 360 million views in its first run across multiple platforms globally.
Mobile Legends: Adventure launched in Japan and South Korea in 2021 and reached the top position on the Apple App Store and Google Play free game charts in both countries. In the same year, MLBB ranked first globally in mobile esports viewing time, with an estimated 386 million hours watched.
In April 2023, Moonton commenced pre-registration for Watcher of Realms, a next-generation fantasy RPG game, with full platform launching in July 2023.
In January 2024, Moonton and the Esports World Cup Foundation signed a multi-year collaboration agreement, with MLBB selected as an inaugural game for the Esports World Cup. In October 2024, Watcher of Realms was launched in China mainland.
In January 2025, MLBB officially launched in mainland China, marking the game's entry into one of the world's largest gaming markets.
On March 26, 2025, Moonton announced that publishing operations for
In November 2025, Moonton was announced as one of the official partners of the Esports Nations Cup, alongside companies including Chess.com and SNK, as part of the tournament’s commercial and competitive expansion.
In November 2025, MOONTON announced the first Magic Chess: Go Go annual tournament—the GO1 World Championship, marking the game's first offline global championship.
In January 2026, Moonton announced a five-region structure—Southeast Asia ; Eastern Europe and Central Asia ; Europe, the Middle East and Africa ; East Asia ; and the Americas. This framework unifies the global MLBB Esports ecosystem while empowering each region through tailored infrastructure and talent development pathways.
The Esports World Cup Foundation announced Mobile Legends: Bang Bang as the first of the 16 world-class titles that national teams will compete in at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November. MLBB will also debut as a medalled event at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, one of the region's largest sporting events.