TECH

Alibaba to Sell Gaming Unit as It Sharpens AI Focus

Published: Aug. 17, 2026 4:58 p.m. GMT+8

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Lingxi Games is best known for its hit strategy game Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition. Photo: Lingxi Games

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has agreed to sell its video game unit Lingxi Games to private equity firm Trustar Capital, marking the tech giant’s latest move to offload non-core assets.

The divestment was announced in an internal memo by Lingxi Games Chief Executive Officer Zhou Bingshu on Monday. A Bloomberg report valued the deal at $1.5 billion, though neither Alibaba nor Trustar, the private-equity arm of Citic Capital Holdings Ltd., has confirmed the figure. Zhou noted that both companies expressed confidence in the gaming unit’s value and future development.

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What Happened When

September 2019：: Lingxi Games launched the strategy game Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition.

September 2020：: Alibaba's gaming business was spun off into an independent group and rebranded as Lingxi Games.

By April 2021：: Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition had amassed over 100 million players globally and generated more than $1 billion in estimated total revenue, according to Sensor Tower.

August 2025：: Lingxi Games was separated from Alibaba’s Hujing Digital Media and Entertainment Group and began reporting directly to Chief Financial Officer Xu Hong.

First quarter of 2026：: Alibaba’s revenue from its other businesses segment, which includes Lingxi Games, fell 21% year-on-year to 65.5 billion yuan ($9.7 billion).