Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) banned in the USA

Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) has been banned in the United States of America. Moonton — the publisher of the title — released a notice on January 18, 2025, stating the game "is currently unavailable" in the US. Moonton is a subsidiary of ByteDance, which owns the popular social media platform, TikTok.

Due to national security concerns, the US government has banned this program in the country. It cannot be accessed from January 19, 2025. Many games linked to ByteDance have received the same treatment.

For instance, Marvel Snap developers have also issued a statement indicating its temporary unavailability in the country. The game was developed by Nurverse, which is owned by ByteDance.

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The United States of America bans MLBB

Mobile Legends has been banned in the USA (Image via YouTube/Airyus Online)

Informing players that Mobile Legends Bang Bang is currently not available to play in the USA, Moonton's official statement read:

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is currently unavailable to players in the US. We deeply value our vibrant player community and are actively exploring possibilities to bring the game back in the future. In the meantime, you can continue to manage your account and download your game data on our official website. Thank you for being part of our community, and we hope to see you again soon."

The publisher has stated that it is trying bring MLBB back to the United States. Till then, players in the country can manage their in-game accounts using the Mobile Legends Bang Bang website.

MLBB has been gaining traction since its launch in 2016, and ByteDance acquired Moonton (the publisher) for $4 billion in 2021. The mobile game has a large user base, especially in Southeast Asia, and is all set to be officially launched in China in 2025.

Moonton hosts several major esports tournaments every year that feature massive prize pools. Players from around the world participate in these events. For instance, BloodThirstyKings from North America competed in the M6 World Championship, which was held in November and December 2024.

Moonton has also announced the roadmap for the MLBB Esports 2025 season, which will see the company organize many major tournaments, including the MSC and M7 World Championship.

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While Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is being made inaccessible in the US, this is not the first time that a country has banned such applications. TikTok, MLBB, and many other Chinese apps have also been made unavailable in India since 2020 due to security and public data concerns.