Tencent eyes more esports competitions in China โ FT
What happened: Tencent will organize more e-sports tournaments this year in China as local governments seek new economic growth by subsidizing the sector, reported Financial Times, citing Tencentโs e-sports division manager, Hou Miao. E-sports are not particularly profitable at the moment, said Hou, but encourage user loyalty and will increase revenue in the long run. The company is reportedly negotiating with Electronic Arts (EA) to bring its hit game, Apex Legends, to China, a development Hou did not confirm, saying only that cooperation was โnaturalโ between the two companies.
Why itโs important: With changes in public attitude toward video games, mobile users playing online video games continued to rise in 2018, growing 12.7% year-on-year. Tencent is still waiting for a license from Chinaโs top content regulator to monetize its popular battle royale game, โPlayerUnknownโs Battlegrounds,โ though the company has said it hopes to hold tournaments for the game this year. In January, Tencent worked with Shanghai authorities to hold the final tournament for its โHonor of Kingsโ title, attracting 15,000 fans. In November, Chinese e-sports club Invictus Gaming (iG) won the first โLeague of Legendsโ (LOL) world championship for mainland China, igniting an upsurge of online celebration.
