Report: Alibaba to sell Lingxi Games in $2bn deal

• Trustar Capital will acquire Alibaba's entire stake in Lingxi.
• Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu and its management team will remain in place.
• Lingxi is best known for Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition.

Alibaba Group is expected to generate more than $2 billion from the sale of its game developer unit Lingxi Games to private equity firm Trustar Capital, according to a report.

Reuters claims that Alibaba and Trustar have reached a formal agreement following several rounds of talks, citing an internal memo. 

Under the agreement, Alibaba will transfer its entire stake in Lingxi to Trustar, although the memo did not disclose the deal's value or expected closing date.

It also did not provide details on regulatory approvals or other conditions.

Ownership change

Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu and the company's management team will continue to lead the business following the transaction. 

Trustar, formerly known as CITIC Capital, is an Asia-focused private equity firm that Zhou said has the resources and operational expertise to support Lingxi's next stage of development.

The sale comes as Alibaba reviews non-core assets while directing capital and management attention towards strategic priorities including AI and cloud computing. 

Guangzhou-based Lingxi is best known for Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition, a multiplayer strategy game developed with Koei Tecmo Holdings.

The company had previously explored external fundraising, with a planned 2023 process stalling after China proposed tighter online gaming rules. Lingxi also underwent a management reshuffle in 2024.

We recently named Alibaba in our list of the Top China Game Makers of 2026 - thanks to its successful games division that includes Lingxi Games and Qookka Games.