Shanghai Moonton Technology Co. Ltd. (Chinese: 上海沐瞳科技有限公司; pinyin: Shànghǎi Mùtóng Kējì Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī), also called Moonton, is a Chinese company that creates, publishes, and supports video games and esports. The company has offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Latin America, Hong Kong, mainland China, and other places.

In October 2021, ByteDance bought Moonton, but it continues to operate on its own. In 2024, Yunfan Zhang became the CEO of Moonton.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (often called MLBB) is a mobile game developed by Moonton. As of 2025, it has more than 1.5 billion registered users and about 110 million people who play it every month. The game is among the top ten most-played mobile games in over 80 countries. It is available worldwide and has professional esports leagues and tournaments in many regions.

In 2026, MLBB Esports changed to a system with five regions: Southeast Asia (SEA); Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA); Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); East Asia (EA); and the Americas (AMER). This structure brings all parts of the global MLBB Esports together while helping each region with its own tools and ways to develop talent.

The M7 World Championship, held from January 3 to 25, 2026, in Jakarta, Indonesia, became the most-watched mobile esports tournament in history. According to Esports Charts, the Grand Finals had more than 5.68 million people watching at the same time—a new record for mobile esports.

History

Moonton was started in Shanghai, China in July 2014. The company’s first game, called Magic Rush: Heroes, was released in April 2015. It was a role-playing game that was available worldwide except in mainland China. After finishing Magic Rush: Heroes, Moonton began creating a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. In November 2016, the company launched Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) worldwide except in mainland China. The game became popular in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. In 2017, MLBB was the most-downloaded free mobile game app for iPhone users in those countries. The game is distributed by Skystone in the United States.

In 2017, Moonton started building its esports competitions. Its first MLBB offline tournament was held in Indonesia in May, followed by the first MLBB Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) in September. In November 2017, the company launched the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The league expanded to the Philippines in March 2018 and Myanmar in February 2019.

Moonton opened regional offices, including a branch in Singapore in May 2018 and a branch in Indonesia in October 2018. By April 2018, MLBB had more than 200 million registered accounts. By October 2020, the game had over 1 billion total downloads, with more than 100 million monthly active users at its peak.

In August 2019, Moonton released Mobile Legends: Adventure worldwide, except in Japan, South Korea, and mainland China. In November 2019, the first Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Global Championship (M1) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sixteen teams from 14 countries participated.

In December 2019, MLBB became an official medal sport at the 30th Southeast Asian Games, showing its recognition as a competitive sport in the region.

On March 22, 2021, ByteDance agreed to buy Moonton for about $4 billion. In July 2021, the MPL expanded to Brazil and Cambodia. By August 2021, MLBB had over 1 billion registered accounts. The company also launched Legends of Dawn – The Sacred Stone, the first MLBB animation series, which had 360 million views globally.

Mobile Legends: Adventure was released in Japan and South Korea in 2021 and reached the top of the Apple App Store and Google Play free game charts in both countries. In the same year, MLBB was the most-watched mobile esports game, with about 386 million hours viewed.

In April 2023, Moonton began pre-registration for Watcher of Realms, a fantasy role-playing game. The game launched fully in July 2023.

In January 2024, Moonton signed a multi-year agreement with the Esports World Cup Foundation. MLBB was chosen as one of the first games for the Esports World Cup. In October 2024, Watcher of Realms was released in mainland China.

In January 2025, MLBB officially launched in mainland China, entering one of the world’s largest gaming markets.

On March 26, 2025, Moonton announced that Skystone Games would take over publishing MLBB in the United States. A new version of the game was available on March 27, 2025, after the original version was temporarily removed from U.S. app stores.

In November 2025, Moonton became an official partner of the Esports Nations Cup, joining companies like Chess.com and SNK. The company also announced the first annual Magic Chess: Go Go (MCGG) tournament, called the GO1 World Championship.

In January 2026, Moonton introduced a five-region structure for its global MLBB esports ecosystem: Southeast Asia (SEA), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), East Asia (EA), and the Americas (AMER). This structure supports each region with tailored resources and talent development.

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) named MLBB as one of the 16 games for the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026, which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November. MLBB will also be a medal event at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, in 2026.

In February 2026, ByteDance announced plans to sell Moonton to Savvy Games Group. The deal was completed on March 23, 2026.