Hot Five
Hot Five: GDC highlights, Tencent’s strategy shift, and Candy Crush’s biggest tournament yet
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Company Profile
Tencent
Website
www.tencent.com
About
Tencent is a world-leading internet and technology company that develops innovative products and services to improve the quality of life of people around the world.
Founded in 1998 with its headquarters in Shenzhen, China, Tencent's guiding principle is to use technology for good. Our communication and social services connect more than one billion people around the world, helping them to keep in touch with friends and family, access transportation, pay for daily necessities, and even be entertained.
Tencent also publishes some of the world's most popular video games and other high-quality digital content, enriching interactive entertainment experiences for people around the globe.
Tencent also offers a range of services such as cloud computing, advertising, FinTech, and other enterprise services to support our clients' digital transformation and business growth.
Tencent has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 2004.
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Accolades
Articles featuring Tencent
Iteration Inspiration
Report: Tencent's top studios developing Palworld-like mobile games
TiMi and Lightspeed studios are reportedly developing mobile games inspired by Palworld
Team Tencent
Tencent "focusing on fewer bigger budget games" as it shifts away from IP strategy
Publishing giant moves Assassin's Creed Jade team to DreamStar as part of new focus on internal products and fewer big franchise bets
Pick Up The Pieces
Tencent takes on two ByteDance game studios as the social giant continues to get out of games
The teams have been combined into a single new company, Saluosi, which is 100% Tencent owned
Week That Was
Week in Views - Elden Ring goes mobile, Apple gets artificially intelligent, and Fortnite goes Disney
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Tencent Turnaround
China approves 32 overseas licences including Nexon and Tencent’s Mobile DnF
While an unstable landscape for games, China continues to prove a lucrative one
Tencent cans Nier mobile game after two years in development
Publisher reportedly concerned about monetisation model and small margins from licensing fees
China Gaming
Tencent play the AI card to brush off gaming worries
At their annual meeting this week CEO Pony Ma recognised increased gaming competition but praised AI advances
Tencent Tumble
Tencent's external investments have dropped 87% in two years
From healthcare to AI start-ups, the number of Tencent investments in external companies decreased from 299 in 2021 to just 39 in 2023
Sell Out
ByteDance to quit games? The company is in talks with Tencent over a possible sell off
The owners of TikTok are taking another step away from their gaming concerns with discussions of a possible sale to Tencent now in progress
Hot Five
Hot Five: Tencent’s newest gameplan, PlatinumGames’ pullout, and investing into Indian Esports
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Poker Face
Tencent is now spending over HK$1 billion A DAY on its own shares
Every cloud has a silver lining, and following its recent shareprice nosedive post legislative bombshell, the company is only accelerating its buybacks
Purchase Power
Tencent sells app store to Huya ahead of Chinese crackdown
Tencent has been selling up and parting ways with its animation company. Now an app store leaves its stable.
Passing The Buck
Top Chinese official removed following gaming crackdown confusion
Top publicity official Feng Shixin has been relieved of his duty after the release of work-in-progress tighter gaming regulations wiped $80 billion from top Chinese gaming stocks
Update
China's latest gaming crackdown: What's new and what it means for mobile's biggest game makers
The introduction of spending limits and bans on everything from regular login rewards to gacha gaming mechanics have thrown China's gaming giants into chaos
Tumble Guys
Tencent and NetEase lose $80 billion in market value as China cracks down on game monetisation tactics
New rules prohibit daily login rewards, first-time purchase bonuses and rewards for repeat spend
Platform Power
Tencent is advertising DreamStar on ByteDance platforms in competition with NetEase
After a fierce rivalry, Tencent and ByteDance are finally warming up to one another
Kaiju Closure
Tencent’s Team Kaiju closes
Team Kaiju is believed to have secretly closed this June, with most staff reassigned to other projects
Meta Manoeuvres
Tencent backs Meta’s VR push into China after a 14 year ban
Meta and Tencent are teaming up to bring a new lower-spec VR headset to China, pitched between Quest 2 and 3
Publishing Power
Top Chinese publishers accounted for 38.7% of October’s mobile revenue
Tencent, NetEase and miHoYo continue to triumph and Goat Games rises up the ranks
Hot Five
Hot Five: Web3 tactics gaming, FunPlus’ latest soft launch and a bunch of new investments
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A Happy Birthday
Goddess of Victory: Nikke celebrates an incredibly lucrative first anniversary
After a year on the market Shift Up’s star performer comes out victorious despite complaints and controversy
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s mo.co launch, Netflix’s gaming strategy, and an AI seed round
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Stock Purchase
Tencent acquires two million shares in Goddess of Victory: Nikke makers Shift Up
Subsidiary Aceville spent ₩79.9 billion on the purchase following Wemade divesting itself of all Shift Up shares
Middle East Movers
PUBG Mobile may still dominates in the Middle East but local favourites are making big money
The latest Middle Eastern rankings for downloads and revenue feature strong performance from familiar favourites alongside surprise new entries
China Vs Apple
Tim Cook makes a surprise appearance at Chinese Honor of Kings tournament
The unexpected live appearance comes amid a turbulent period for Apple’s relations with China
Round-up Report
New releases, new modes, and new events: Here's what's new in mobile gaming
A new GameRefinery report analyses the gaming market to identify September's top performers
Green Gaming
Tencent, Apple, Ubisoft, and Nintendo lead the industry in carbon emission reduction
The games industry is slowly going green, but still emitted 81 million tonnes of greenhouse gases last year
Reigning Revenue Raisers
Top 10 highest-grossing mobile games of all time
From Candy Crush and Clash of Clans to Pokémon and Lineage M
Alternative App Stores
Who are the 26 app stores complying with China’s latest regulations?
The country’s latest crackdown has seen alternative app stores become even more prominent in the Chinese market
To Be The Very Best
1 in 190: Why networking is essential for jobs in games
Chances of getting that job are only 0.05% without putting in those networking hours
Success In China
MapleStory M surpassed $55 million in its first 35 days on the Chinese market
The game’s success in China pushed the game over $600 million in lifetime revenue
Market Analysis
Honor of Kings makes $238 to become the world's highest grossing app in August
Plus the full breakdown of August 2023's biggest top ten global app performers
Announcements
Tencent teases competitor to NetEase's Eggy Party
The Fall Guys/Stumble Guys-inspired title has been a big hit for NetEase
Revenue
Nier Automata collaboration pushes Goddess of Victory: Nikke to a half-a billion in revenue
The collaboration saw a 215% increase in sales for the title
Blue Protocol
Tencent reportedly adapting Bandai Namco’s Blue Protocol for mobile
The upcoming title is anticipated to be a smash hit
Chinese Market
Which games ruled the Chinese market in August?
More than fifty new games were released in the world’s biggest mobile gaming market over the month
Industry Insight
China dominates among the top 100 global mobile publishers
40 of the top 100 publishers in August 2023 were from China - three more than in July
Chinese App Stores
China’s app stores begin compliance with China’s latest regulations
Tencent and Xiaomi are among the app store owners now complying with the government’s regulations
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news including the rebirth of a legend and the creation of a new genre
Arena Breakout
Arena Breakout surpasses 80 million registered users
The game brings hardcore gaming to mobile platforms
Best Of 2023
The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2023
The movers and the shakers of the last 12 months
Tencent Financials
Tencent generated $20.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023
The total represents an 11% increase from the same period of 2022
Jobs News
August's Mobile Movers and Shakers: Ahmed Sharif joins Sandsoft, Jeaneane Falkler moves to Room 8 and more
August has seen some significant moves by some of the industry's biggest company's - here's the highlights from the last week
Sensor Tower Report
37 of July's top 100 mobile game publishers came from China
Chinese publishers accounted for nearly $2 billion for the month
Gaming In China
China’s gaming market climbed by 20% in July
July offered strong evidence for a rebound in the country’s gaming market
Chinese Restrictions
China to implement new restrictions on children's smartphone use
Just when it looked like China legislation was opening up, new moves to restrict the market are afoot
Deals
Deals Digest: July 2023's biggest deals at a glance
From Tencent’s acquisition spree to the latest moves in Web3, here are this month's biggest deals from around the mobile games world
Tencent Acquisition
Tencent acquires visual novel company Visual Arts
The move follows the company’s acquisition of Techland earlier this week
China Licensing
Is China's gaming output back on track?
With 88 new licences granted, could the country’s regulatory issues be coming to an end?