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ByteDance
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ByteDance appoints new CEO for Moonton studio as it consolidates video gaming business

  • Zhang Yunfan, a former executive at video-gaming company Perfect World, joined ByteDance in April to lead the Shanghai-based studio
  • Moonton has emerged as a key player in the global market for MOBA games, led by Dota2 and League of Legends

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Mooton’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is one of the most popular mobile games in Southeast Asia. Photo: Handout
Ann Caoin Shanghai

TikTok owner ByteDance, which has been scaling back its video-gaming operations in recent months, has appointed a new CEO for Moonton Technology, the creator of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, according to people familiar with the matter.

Zhang Yunfan, a former executive at video-gaming company Perfect World, joined ByteDance in April to lead the Shanghai-based studio, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Zhang joined Perfect World in 2013 to lead the Beijing-based company’s mobile game publishing business, and became its chief operating officer two years later. He also oversaw the Chinese version of Dota2, operated by Perfect World, before leaving the company in 2016.

Moonton declined to comment when on Tuesday.

By appointing the new CEO, ByteDance has decided not to sell Moonton and instead will carry out a “change in strategy” for the subsidiary, Bloomberg reported earlier this week.

The news comes as ByteDance has been making a retreat in the video-gaming sector since late last year, as the social media giant streamlines its businesses to focus on core assets including short video apps Douyin and TikTok, amid ongoing weakness in consumer spending and regulatory uncertainties.
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