Alibaba to sell gaming division Lingxi Games for over $1 billion
The Chinese tech giant is actively seeking buyers for its gaming business. At least five potential buyers have already been contacted, including publicly traded game developers and private equity firms.
Vienna, June 25, 2026. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group plans to sell its gaming division, Lingxi Games. The valuation starts at $1.03 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company has already approached at least five potential buyers.
Chinese Gaming Industry in Transition
Among the potential buyers contacted are the publicly traded Chinese game developers 37 Interactive Entertainment, China Ruyi, Century Huatong, and Giant Network. In addition, two private equity firms have reportedly been involved in the sale process. Lingxi Games is primarily known for mobile games and operates several successful titles in the Chinese market. The planned sale is part of a broader wave of consolidation in the Chinese gaming industry, which is under considerable pressure following regulatory interventions in recent years.
Alibaba's strategic realignment
The sale of its gaming division marks another step in Alibaba's comprehensive restructuring. Since its forced separation into six independent business units in 2023, the company has increasingly focused on its core e-commerce and cloud computing businesses. Non-core activities are systematically divested or taken public. The gaming industry, which Alibaba never considered a strategic focus, apparently falls into this category.
With the proceeds, the company could step up its investments in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure—areas where Alibaba is competing against Tencent and emerging rivals such as ByteDance.
Austrian companies observe development
For Austrian economic actors, the transaction has no immediate impact, but it illustrates an important trend: Chinese tech corporations are fundamentally reorganizing their portfolios.
This means that domestic companies.
The Austrian game development scene, which has grown in recent years, is closely watching the consolidation of the global gaming industry. Studios like Sproing and Purple Lamp have collaborated with international publishers in the past. Consolidation in the Chinese market could alter the licensing landscape for Western developers in the medium term, as fewer, but larger, Chinese players emerge.
Lingxi Games' valuation of at least $1.03 billion is roughly four times the division's estimated annual revenue, a multiple that is considered ambitious in the current market environment.
Source: TechNode | Original Article