Tencent has seen numerous gains in the gaming market over the years. They have delivered various it titles to China with great success. Mobile gaming is massive in China, and for good reason. Console gaming made its way to China relatively recently but not everybody has the luxury to play games at home and the Nintendo Switch has done well but its network capabilities have always been lacking. Games that run numerous mobile devices give convenience to be played anywhere and perhaps the most important aspect, online and social connectivity.
It’s no surprise that Tencent’s hit mobile titles PUBG and Honor of Kings (王者荣耀) have exceeded sales expectations. Honor of Kings in particular is one of the hottest around China and has been for a long time, way before League of Legends announced they would be venturing on to mobile devices. People on their lunch breaks, friends at cafés, students and many more simply pick up their phones for 5 on 5 MOBA style matches.
Having played the game for a while, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of small tasks to complete and claim. It has perhaps one of the most complex reward systems I have seen in a long time but perhaps this is also the reason why people feel so invested and are willing to spend money on the freemium system. The ability to socialise, rank and flex evidently has a wining formula embedded as sales continue to soar. Mobile gaming is here to stay, especially in China where it is very much part of Esports.
