Tencent’s Honor of Kings mobile game drew a record 33,000 fans to watch the finals in Beijing on November 16, 2024.
CNBC | Evelyn Cheng
BEIJING – The Chinese gaming giant Tencent is betting on an increase in female players worldwide for its mobile game Honor of Kings, which launched in the US and other countries in June.
Already a hit in China, the game drew a record 33,000 fans to a stadium in Beijing on Saturday to watch two teams compete for a $3 million grand prize.
Surprisingly, there were many young women in the crowd, reflecting how interest in mobile games has grown from the stereotypical male player in the days of console and PC gaming.
Launched in China in November 2015, the game’s appeal lies in its easy learning curve and relatively short sessions of around 15 minutes. Anyone with a smartphone can play for free in real time on the go.
“Honoring the King became an important way for me to socialize,” Tianyun Gao said, according to CNBC’s translation of her spoken Mandarin. She started playing the game as a sophomore in college in 2017 and became a professional commentator for the game’s competitions a year later.
Gao, an English major from Shanghai, has moderated Honor of Kings competitions in two languages, including an international event held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in August. He said he hopes to see esports become as mainstream as traditional sports, noting that one of his inspirations is a Chinese soccer commentator.
Tencent stepped up its global expansion plans for Honor of Kings this year, with its subsidiary Level Infinite announcing a $15 million investment in February to develop the game’s tournaments worldwide.
An international version of the game has been available since 2016 under various names such as Arena of Valor, but the latest global push for Honor of Kings began in 2022. The game didn’t reach the Middle East until earlier this year and only launched that year. Major markets of North America, Europe and Japan in June.
According to the company, after less than a month, the game topped 50 million downloads outside China.
Extremely mobile focused
Without investing in consoles and other technology, the increase in gaming among women is largely driven by their preference to play on their smartphones.
“About half of female players only play on mobile platforms, so we have a very recognizable audience,” said Jackie Huang, head of global esports division for Honor of Kings at Tencent Games’ TiMi L1 studio. player base but we want to see it grow.”
He said that 45% of gamers globally are female, and that the gender composition of Honor of Kings’ users is “relatively balanced.” We strive to provide for customers, regardless of how they identify. [a] high-quality gaming experience,” said Huang.
Gaming is Tencent’s biggest revenue driver, accounting for international games. Gaming accounted for about 28 percent of its overall revenue in the third quarter.
The company also owns Riot Games, a developer whose PC-based League of Legends has become one of the most popular names in global esports with its annual competition. Honor of Kings, which claims 100 million players a day, uses the same format with two teams of five players each.
Such multiplayer games are the second most popular genre behind puzzles for female gamers, said Xiaofeng Zeng, China-based vice president of gaming research firm Niko Partners. Their analysis revealed that 95 percent of women prefer mobile games.
Zeng said that if Honor of Kings can take first place in China, and that position overseas, Tencent could get half of its revenue from international markets. The top overseas markets for the game in terms of revenue are the US, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, he said.
And in the key market of Southeast Asia, Zeng said, due to a smaller base, female gamers are growing two to three times faster than male gamers. A newly-branded Honor of Kings World Championship was held in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta last month with Malaysian team Black Shrew Esports. Winning the first prize of $300,000.
Early stages
Currently, no matter how popular the King’s Honor is among women, the pageants remain male-dominated. Both teams competing in Beijing on Saturday consisted of only male players.
Huang pointed out that this year’s world championships included a female player from France’s Vitality team, which is also managed and coached by women.
He attributed Honor of King’s popularity among women to the game’s playable characters, who are also women. Many figures, each with different powers, are based on Chinese historical or mythological figures.
In 2021, organizers of the Honor of Kings competition in China also launched a tournament for female players. This year’s women’s final is scheduled for December, with A A prize of about $41,000 For the winning team.
“Pandemic has been a huge female boom in the games space and we’ve seen increased engagement of female gamers,” said Chirag Ambwani, SVP of gaming and entertainment at Sensor Tower, which focuses on mobile games.
Reasons include exclusive and convenient content, he said, adding that gaming participation has increased overall.
As for Honor of Kings’ global expansion, Amboani said Sensor Tower’s research has shown “healthy growth,” with average revenue exceeding $5 per user in the US and Canada.
