Behind the Success of Tencent’s Honour of Kings, a League of Legends-like Mobile Title Launched in 2015, Which Became the First Game in History to Hit 100m Daus (Tencent Honour Kings League Legends Like 100m)

Tencent Honour Kings League Legends Like 100m: Tencent’s Honour of Kings, a League of Legends-like mobile title launched in 2015, which became the first game in history to hit 100m Daus (Tencent Honour Kings League Legends Like 100m).

What is Tencent?

Run by Ma Huateng and headquartered in Shenzhen, Tencent is China’s largest Internet company. It was founded by Ma Huateng and Chen Zhaoyao and released its first product QQ on April 20th 1997.

What is Honour of Kings?

Honour of Kings (HoK) was released by Tencent in 2015. It is the first ever MOBA game that can boast 100 million daily users. It is also the leading mobile game in China with 20 million downloads and 5 million daily active users.

How did it hit 100m+ DAU in 3 short years?

HoK boasts a number of interesting features. First, it has no pay to win system. Second, it features 10vs10 matches. Finally, according to China Mobile’s statistics, over 70% of HoK players come from cities with a population under 1 million.

1. No pay to win system

Tencent is not afraid of running contrary to the accepted wisdom when it comes to mobile games. It is clearly not interested in developing games that have a pay to win model where you have to buy the top heroes and items. By removing these elements, HoK can be enjoyed by players of different skill levels and help drive player engagement.

2. 10vs10 matches

A 10vs10 match offers a much greater dynamic compared to the MOBA games you play on PC. Compared to a typical 5vs5 MOBA game, the battlefield is larger and there are more heroes on screen at any time, creating a more tense gaming experience. From an operational point of view, the bigger battlefield also allows for a wider variety of tactical choices for the players.

3. 70% of HoK players come from cities with a population under 1 million

10vs10 matches also help promote the game in lower tier cities, as well as advertising and marketing efforts fronted by Tencent’s massive network of sports media channels and advertising agencies. The demographic mix also allows for better targeting of games, which is crucial to a mobile game’s success in the ways I mentioned above.

I’ve since been re-reading this article, and I have to say that, although it’s a bit technical, it’s very well written and I can see how the author got to about 100 million DAU in a short period of time. 

I don’t know if Jagex is offering anything similar from the free-to-play route or not. That’s probably why I’m reaching out to Jagex.