Skystone Games takes US publishing rights for Mobile Legends as TikTok ban looms

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ByteDance-owned Moonton is officially transferring its top title to publisher Skystone Games in the US in the wake of the country’s ban on the Chinese company’s ownership of apps in the country.

The billion-dollar hit mobile title is being temporarily removed from Google Play in the US on March 27th as a result of the change. A new version, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.US is being made available for download on the same day.

Meanwhile on the App Store, the company said it was working closely with Skystone to expedite the approval process.

While the game isn’t available during the temporary removal period, existing players can continue logging in and playing the game as usual.

Players were warned, however, to bind their account as soon as possible in the existing game to avoid losing their data.

The lack of a deal between ByteDance and another publisher would have seen its games taken offline in the US.

TikTok ban

The move comes after the US divest-or-ban bill for TikTok came into effect on January 19th, following the Supreme Court’s rejection of ByteDance’s appeal to overturn it. The decision meant TikTok was banned in the country, a move that also affected the companies it owns, including Nuverse and Moonton.

TikTok and titles like Marvel Snap and Mobile Legends were taken off the app stores following the ruling.

However, they came back online after Donald Trump was officially appointed as US president, he signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the law banning TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps for 75 days. 

Marvel snap developer Second Dinner secured Skystone Games as its new US-based publisher in January, having previously worked with Nuverse. The same publisher has now taken publishing rights in the country for Mobile Legends.

TikTok sale?

A TikTok buyer is still being sought, with YouTube influencer MrBeast, Perplexity AI and Oracle Corp reported to be in the fray. The deadline for a deal is currently set for April 5th.

We previously spoke to industry experts about the potential impact a US TikTok ban might have on the mobile games sector. The social platform has become an important channel for user acquisition over the years.

“This won’t be a simple case of moving budget around to other platforms; TikTok is a very specific user base that many treat very differently to other platforms,” said NextBeat head of growth Ryan Davies.