Chinese gaming giant Tencent Holdings will launch its hit battle game Honor of Kings in Europe, Japan and North America on June 20. This move comes as domestic gaming growth continues to slow due to Beijing’s strict regulations on the sector.
Beijing has significantly limited the time teenagers can spend playing video games and is working on a final version of rules aimed at curbing player spending.
Two of Tencent’s biggest titles domestically are Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite. Tencent’s TiMi Studio developed Honor of Kings in 2015 and has since become the country’s most popular and highest-grossing mobile game. With over 200 million registered players, the company generated $15.6 billion in cumulative revenue from in-app purchases on the Chinese App Store alone, according to AppMagic.
The decision comes as Tencent struggles to find new hit games. Domestic gaming revenue fell 2% year on year in the first quarter, while international gaming grew just 3%.
Tencent has been pursuing global expansion for years, while domestic growth has stagnated. However, aside from PUBG Mobile, a battle royale-style mobile game that has generated more than $10 billion in global revenue since its launch in 2017, the company has yet to find much success outside of China.
In 2016, Tencent launched Arena of Valor (then referred to as the international version of Honor of Kings) overseas, including Taiwan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the European Union.
Despite the obvious similarities, Arena of Valor introduced different heroes to cover markets outside of China, while Honor of Kings featured ancient Chinese heroes. Aside from some excitement in certain Southeast Asian countries, Arena of Valor hasn’t caused much of a buzz overseas.
Honor of Kings: What to expect?
This time, Honor of Kings will be identical to the Chinese version and will feature legendary Chinese folk heroes and heroines such as Mulan, Cao Cao, Libai, Diaochan and Han Xin.
“Tencent’s only lucrative title in the international market now is PUBG and it has been there for six years. The company has made so many efforts launching these games overseas and is actively looking for the next PUBG,” a member of the company’s gaming unit told Nikkei Asia.