Arena of Valor comes to Nintendo Switch
Tencent has announced that it will bring Arena of Valor, its hugely successful MOBA game, to Nintendo Switch this Winter. Arena of Valor, which is known as Honor of Kings in China, is a free to play MOBA game which has over 50 million daily active users and over 200 million monthly active users in China. The game was also the #1 grossing mobile game in the world for the first half of 2017. Tencent is looking to take its hit game global and has already found success In Southeast Asia and South Korea with the game. The next step will be to conquer North America and Europe.
Number of Steam users in China tops 20 million
The number of Steam users in China has now exceeded 20 million. New account sign-ups are being driven by continued localisation of video games into Simplified Chinese on the platform. The most recent boost in user numbers has been driven by the success of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS which has now sold over 3 million units in China. Whilst Steam remains a viable platform for game releases in China, it is important to note that the store operates in a grey area as games are not officially approved. China could regulate or shut down Steam at any time.
Korean mobile games still blocked in China
Five months ago, we reported that China had begun to block new game approvals for Korean developed games over tensions regarding a US missile defence system that had been installed in Seoul. Games that had already been approved, such as Dragon Nest Mobile, have not been affected, but new games are yet to be approved. China accounts for a sizable portion of revenues for companies such as Netmarble and Nexon. Tencent originally said that Netmarble’s ‘Lineage II: Revolution’ was scheduled to launch this November but it is unclear if this will still go ahead. We will continue watching the situation in China as it unfolds.
Sina to broadcast League of Legends Championships
Sina Weibo announced on September 13th that it will become the official strategic cooperative partner of League of Legends in China. Weibo will broadcast the League of Legends world finals live from September 23rd through to November 4th. Weibo, a twitter like service in China, has over 361 million active users on the platform and the company notes that 50 million of them are League of Legends players. We note that League of Legends has around 100 million active users each month and therefore the partnership with Weibo should reach a large audience.
New World plans seven esports stadiums in China
New World Development, a Hong Kong based property developer, has signed a 10 year deal with Hero Entertainment to set up esports facilities across China. Hero Entertainment is the second largest esports mobile operator in China and will help develop the esports stadiums across seven Chinese cities. New World will also co-organise the Hero Esports Pro League. The number of Esports gamers in China is set to exceed 200 million by the end of the year.
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