Chinese Tech Giant & American Game Pioneer Team Up to Bring “League of Legends” to Your Pocket
The Tale of Two Companies
Tencent, the Beijing powerhouse behind the wildly popular Honour of Kings, has finally signed up the New York-based Riot Games to whip up a League of Legends mobile edition. After years of drifting apart—Riot once snubbed Tencent’s proposal and later felt snubbed by those Honor of Kings mods—it’s finally time to lock arms.
Why the Shift Matters
- Mobile play is king in China (57% of game revenue in 2018) but only a 36% slice in the U.S.
- Many Asian players love the convenience of phones; Western gamers often prefer PCs or consoles for slick visuals.
- “League of Legends” has struggled with revenue dips, and Riot needs a fresh way to make money on its only major title.
What the New Mobile Version Brings
- Potentially 140 million monthly players in China, mirroring the success of Honour of Kings.
- More overseas titles for Arena of Valor—though it didn’t quite captivate western crowds.
- New esports tournaments and gear through the joint venture Tengjing Sports.
The Competitive Landscape
“League of Legends is like the World Cup, while Honour of Kings is the Asia Cup,” one insider said. With LoL accounting for 24.7% of all core PC gamers worldwide (a huge but unspecified number) and its World Championship topping Twitch and YouTube Gaming with 81.1 million hours watched in 2018, the stakes are high.
Will It Be a Hit?
Some analysts worry that a mobile League of Legends might not achieve the same glory as Honour of Kings without a reimagined gameplay experience—after all, the battlefield game market is jam-packed.
Stay tuned for more updates. The countdown to the next great mobile gaming adventure has just officially started.
