Alibaba Plans to Sell Lingxi Games as AI Becomes Its Bigger Bet
Quick Reads
- Alibaba is selling Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital.
- AI remains Alibaba’s bigger priority as it shifts resources toward AI and cloud computing.
- Lingxi’s leadership will stay in place, with CEO Zhou Bingshu continuing to lead the studio.
- The deal could be worth more than $2 billion, according to Reuters, though the internal memo did not disclose the final value.
Alibaba is letting go of one of its gaming businesses as it puts more resources behind artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
The company has agreed to transfer its entire stake in Lingxi Games to Asian private equity firm Trustar Capital. Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu announced the deal in an internal memo reviewed by Reuters and Bloomberg News.
Lingxi is best known for Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition, a multiplayer strategy game developed with Japan’s Koei Tecmo. The studio has also gone through major changes in recent years. In 2024, it reshuffled its management team. An earlier attempt to raise external funding also stalled as China considered tighter rules for the online gaming industry.
Now, Trustar will take Lingxi into its next phase while Zhou and the existing management team continue to lead the studio. For Alibaba, however, the bigger story goes beyond gaming. The company is reviewing businesses outside its core priorities as it doubles down on AI and cloud computing. Selling Lingxi could be another sign that Alibaba is willing to let go of valuable assets to make room for its bigger AI ambitions.
