Tencent’s mobile game “Honor of Kings” attracted a record 33,000 fans to watch the final match in Beijing on November 16, 2024.
CNBC | Evelyn Chen
BEIJING — China’s gaming giant tencent is betting on an increase in female players around the world for its mobile game “Honor of Kings,” which rolled out in the U.S. and other countries in June.
The game, already popular in China, drew a record 33,000 fans to Beijing Stadium on Saturday to watch two teams compete for $3 million in prize money.
Many in the crowd were young women, reflecting how interest in mobile gaming has expanded from the typical male players of the era of console and PC gaming.
Released in China in November 2015, the game’s appeal lies in its ease of learning and relatively short sessions of about 15 minutes. Anyone with a smartphone can play for free and in real time on the go.
“Honoring the king has become an important way for me to socialize,” Gao Tianyun said, according to CNBC’s Mandarin interpreter. She started playing the game as a sophomore in 2017 and became a professional commentator for gaming tournaments a year later.
Gao, an English major from Shanghai, has hosted Honor of Kings competitions in two languages, including an international event in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh in August. She said her hope is that esports will become as mainstream as traditional sports, and said one of her inspirations is Chinese soccer commentators.
Tencent has stepped up its global expansion plans for Honor of Kings this year, and in February, its subsidiary Level Infinite announced a $15 million investment to expand the game’s tournaments globally.
International versions of the game have been available since 2016 under various names such as Arena of Valor, but Honor of Kings’ most recent global push began in 2022. The game didn’t reach the Middle East until earlier this year and was first released in 2016. It will be held in major markets in North America, Europe and Japan in June.
In less than a month, the game has surpassed 50 million downloads outside of China, according to the company.
Overwhelmingly mobile focused
The growth of women’s gaming is largely due to women preferring to play on their smartphones without having to invest in gaming consoles or other technology.
“Almost half of our female players only play on mobile platforms, so we have a huge audience to cater to,” said Jackie Fan, head of global esports for Honor of Kings within Tencent Games’ TiMi L1 studio. ” The player base continues to grow and we hope this continues to grow even further. ”
He said 45% of gamers around the world are women, and the gender makeup of Honor of Kings’ users is “relatively balanced.” [a] A high-quality gaming experience,” Huang said.
Gaming is Tencent’s biggest revenue driver, with overseas games accounting for about 28% of its total gaming business in the third quarter.
The company also owns Riot Games, the PC-based League of Legends developer that holds its own contest every year and has become one of the most popular names in global esports . Honor of Kings, which has 100 million players per day, uses a similar format with two teams of five players each.
Such multiplayer games are the second most popular category for female gamers after puzzles, said Xiaofeng Zeng, China-based vice president of gaming research firm Nico Partners. His analysis found that 95% of women prefer mobile games.
If Honor of Kings maintains its No. 1 spot in China and gains that position overseas, Tencent could derive half of its revenue from international markets, Zeng said. He said the top overseas markets for the game by revenue are the US, India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Zeng also said that in key markets in Southeast Asia, female players are growing two to three times faster than male gamers due to their lower base. The newly branded Honor of Kings World Championship was held in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta last month, with Malaysian team Black Shrew Esports taking home the first prize of $300,000.
early stage
For now, no matter how popular Honor of Kings is among women, the competition is still dominated by men. Both teams, which will play in Beijing on Saturday, were made up of only male players.
Fan pointed out that this year’s World Championships featured female athletes from France’s Team Vitality, which is also coached and coached by women.
He attributed Honor of King’s popularity among women to the fact that the game’s playable characters are also women. Many of the characters, each with different powers, are based on Chinese historical or mythological figures.
In 2021, the organizers of China’s Honor of Kings tournament also launched a tournament for female players. This year’s women’s final is scheduled to be held in December, with the winning team receiving approximately $41,000 in prize money.
“The pandemic has greatly accelerated the entry of women into the gaming space, and we continue to see an increase in the involvement of female gamers,” said Chirag Ambwani, senior vice president of games and entertainment at Sensor Tower, which focuses on mobile gaming. says Mr.
This is due to professional and accessible content, he said, adding that there has been an overall increase in participation in the game.
Regarding Honor of Kings’ global expansion, Ambwani said SensorTower’s research shows “healthy growth,” with average revenue per user exceeding $5 in the U.S. and Canada.
