Tencent's Honor of Kings mobile game attracted a record 33,000 fans to watch the final competition in Beijing on November 16, 2024.
CNBC | Evelyn Cheng
Beijing – Chinese gaming giant Tencent It is betting on a rise in the number of female players worldwide for the mobile game Honor of Kings, which launched in the United States and other countries in June.
The game has been a huge success in China, attracting a record 33,000 fans to Beijing Stadium on Saturday to watch two teams compete for the $3 million grand prize.
Many attendees were young women, reflecting how interest in mobile gaming has broadened from the stereotypical image of the male gamer 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.
“The honor of royalty has become an important way for me to socialize,” Tianyun Gao said, according to a CNBC translation of spoken Mandarin. She started playing the game in 2017 when she was a sophomore in college and became a professional commentator for game competitions a year later.
Gao, an English major from Shanghai, has run Honor of Kings competitions in two languages, including an international event held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in August. She said she hopes e-sports will become as mainstream as traditional sports, and noted that one of her sources of inspiration is the Chinese football commentator.
Tencent has bolstered its global expansion plans for Honor of Kings this year, with its subsidiary Level Infinite in February announcing a $15 million investment in developing the game's tournament around the world.
An international version of the game has been available since 2016 under various names such as Arena of Valor, but the final global push for Honor of Kings began in 2022. The game only arrived in the Middle East earlier this year and was only released in 2016. Main markets in North America, Europe and Japan in June.
Less than a month later, the game had surpassed 50 million downloads outside China, according to the company.
Overwhelmingly focused on mobile
The growth in gaming among women stems largely from their preference to play on their smartphones, without having to invest in consoles and other technology.
“Nearly half of female gamers only play on mobile platforms, so we have a large audience to address,” said Jackie Huang, Head of Global eSports Honor of Kings at Tencent Games' TiMi L1 Studio. Player base but we want to see this continue to grow.”
He said that 45% of players globally are women, and that the gender composition of Honor of Kings users is “relatively balanced.” “We strive to provide users, regardless of who they are, with a high-quality gaming experience.” Huang said.
Gaming is Tencent's biggest revenue driver, with international games accounting for about 28% of its total gaming business in the third quarter.
The company also owns Riot Games, the developer whose PC-based League of Legends has become one of the most recognizable names in global esports with its own annual competition. Honor of Kings, which has 100 million daily players, uses a similar format with two teams of five players each.
Xiaofeng Zeng, vice president of China-based game research firm Niko Partners, said such multiplayer games are the second most popular category among female gamers, after puzzles. His analysis found that 95% of women prefer mobile games.
Zeng said that if Honor of Kings can take first place in China and achieve this position abroad, Tencent can generate half of its revenue from international markets. He said that the game's most important foreign markets in terms of revenue are the United States, India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
In the key market of Southeast Asia, Zeng said that because of the low base, female players are growing two to three times faster than male players. The rebranded Honor of Kings World Championship was held last month in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, with Malaysian team Black Shrew Esports taking home the $300,000 first prize.
Early stages
Currently, no matter how popular Honor of Kings is among women, the competitions are still dominated by men. The two teams competing in Beijing on Saturday were made up of only male players.
Huang pointed out that this year's world championship included a player from the French 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 female. Many characters, each with different powers, are based on Chinese historical or legendary figures.
In 2021, the organizers of the Honor of Kings competition in China also launched a tournament for female players. This year's women's finals are scheduled to be held in December, with a prize pool of about $41,000 for the winning team.
“The pandemic has been a big part of accelerating female entry into gaming, and we continue to see an increase in female gamer engagement,” said Chirag Ambwani, senior vice president of gaming and entertainment at SensorTower, which focuses on mobile gaming.
Reasons include niche content that is easily accessible, he said, adding that participation in gaming overall has grown.
As for Honor of Kings' global expansion, Ambwani said SensorTower's research showed “healthy growth,” with average revenue of more than $5 per user in the U.S. and Canada.
