Tencent and NetEase earnings roundup
Tencent and NetEase both released Q3 earnings earlier this month. Tencent and NetEase continue to demonstrate growth and solidify their positions as the #1 and #2 gaming companies from China. Both companies continue to grow engagement and spend across existing titles and invest in new IP, genres and geographies to grow further. With 600 million gamers (nearly 2x the population of the US), the Chinese games market is the single-most important market in the world for PC online and mobile games. Niko Partners forecasts China’s games market to increase from $26 billion in 2017 to $35 billion in domestic revenue by 2021, with Tencent and NetEase driving growth and innovation.
Tencent will operate PUBG in China
Tencent has confirmed that it has partnered with Bluehole to operate Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) in China. The news comes shortly after Tencent acquired a 5% stake in Bluehole. Tencent has confirmed that the game will have an official China server, will focus on banning cheaters and will make changes to the game in line with regulations. PUBG, which is currently released on Steam, has already sold more than 8 million paid copies in China. It is unclear if Tencent’s version of the game will integrate with the Steam version or if the company will create a new free to play version that is separate from the International version.
Tencent market cap surpasses $500 billion
Chinese digital game and social media giant Tencent saw its market cap exceed $500 billion this week. This makes Tencent the first Chinese company with a market cap of $500 billion, narrowly beating out Alibaba. Tencent has also surpassed Facebook in market cap and is now one of the five most valuable companies in the world. Tencent’s share price is up over 120% year to date and the company continues to demonstrate growth across all segments.
Razer launches its gaming phone for $699
Razer, a Singaporean gaming hardware company, has launched a brand new gaming phone for $699. The phone, known as the Razer Phone, has been built with gamers In mind and packs a 120Hz HD screen, 8GB of RAM and dual 12mp cameras. The company plans to target users who want the best performance out of a smartphone. Razer recently raised $500 million from its Hong Kong IPO.
China box office exceeds RMB 50 billion in 2017
China’s box office has grossed more than RMB 50 billion ($7.5 billion) as of the third week of November according to the SAPPRFT. The increase of 19% YoY is primarily being driven by domestic releases such as Wolf Warriors 2 which has grossed $870m this year. Domestic releases now account for 53% of total revenue generated this year. China’s annual box office revenue is set to reach RMB 55 billion ($8.3 billion) this year.
With the world’s fastest growing games market, a friendly regulatory climate, if you’re not already paying attention to Southeast Asia, you should be. We launched three reports on Southeast Asia this fall. Market size and other key takeaways from the analysis can be found here:
Southeast Asia PC Online Games Market Report & 5-year Forecast
2017 SEA Mobile Games Market Report & 5-year Forecast
2017 Taiwan Games Market Report
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