Key Takeaways:
– Tencent, the Chinese gaming company, is focusing on the rise in female players for its mobile game “Honor of Kings,” which has been released in various global markets.
– The game recorded a massive crowd of 33,000 fans in Beijing for a final competition
– Growth in female participation in gaming is largely attributed to the convenience, accessibility, and affordability of smartphone games.
– Almost half (45%) of gamers globally are women, and Tencent aims to boost this further.
– Owing to its easy learning curve, appealing characters, and short game sessions, Honor of Kings has gained high popularity, especially among women.
– Gaming is Tencent’s largest source of revenue, with 28% of its total gaming business coming from international markets.
Popular Mobile Game Honor of Kings Aims to Attract More Female Players
Chinese gaming behemoth, Tencent, is placing its bets on an escalating number of global female players for its mobile game, Honor of Kings. Having already gained popularity in China, the mobile game attracted a staggering number of 33,000 fans, many of them young women, who gathered in Beijing’s arena to witness a battle between teams over a mouth watering $3 million grand prize.
A Shift in Gaming Demographics
This is a significant departure from the usual stereotypes associated with gaming; it is no longer just the domain of men playing on their console and PC. Honor of Kings, first launched in China in 2015, offers an easy learning curve and brief, action-packed sessions of around 15 minutes. Any smartphone owner can freely engage in real-time gaming on the move.
Playing to Win
According to a commentary from Tianyun Gao, a professional commentator for the game, Honor of Kings has become a key social tool for her since she started playing the game in college. Gao, who is now fluent in two languages, particularly praises the gaming giant’s mobile game for shaping her into a professional esports moderator. To her, esports have the potential to become as mainstream as traditional sports.
Off to a Flying Start
Tencent has taken their global expansion ambitions a notch higher this year after its subsidiary, Level Infinite, announced an investment of $15 million to boost the game’s international tournaments. Although an international version of the game, known as Arena of Valor, has been available since 2016, a major push began in 2022, reaching North America, Europe, and Japan earlier this year. Since then, the game topped an impressive 50 million downloads outside the far-eastern country.
Gaming: A Mobile Affair
Gaming, predominantly mobile, represents Tencent’s most significant revenue driver. “Around half of all female gamers exclusively play on mobile platforms,” said Jackie Huang, head of the Honor of Kings global esports division within Tencent Games’ TiMi L1 Studio. Therefore, leveraging the upsurge in female gamers using their smartphones for play could indeed be a strategic masterstroke for Tencent.
The Future of Mobile Gaming
Gaming research firm Niko Partners, based in China, indicates that puzzle games are the foremost popular category among female gamers. A whopping 95% of women are showing preference for mobile games. Following this trend, if Tencent’s Honor of Kings maintains its first-place spot in China and manages to achieve the same overseas, the company could potentially generate half its revenue from global markets.
Towards Diversity in Gaming
Despite the popularity of Honor of Kings among women, most of the participants in the competitions are men. However, signs of change are evident, with a global championship this year featuring a female player from France’s Team Vitality. Tencent attributes this trend to the game’s female playable characters, often based on Chinese historical or mythological figures.
In conclusion, Tencent’s focus on increasing female participation in mobile gaming not only reflects the shifting gaming demographics globally but may also be an instrumental step in reshaping the future trajectory of the world’s mobile gaming industry. With this in mind, the future of mobile gaming looks exciting, inclusive, and undeniably profitable.