Over the past decade, the Chinese tech giant and one of the largest video game conglomerates in the world, Tencent Holdings, has invested heavily in developing its gaming business.
With ownership stakes in several US video game developers and publishers, today the company owns some of the world’s most popular games generating huge profit each year.
According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, Tencent`s gaming revenues tripled in the last five years, reaching an all-time high of $24.1 billion in 2020.
Gaming Revenues Jumped By 36% YoY Amid Pandemic
Although best known for WeChat or also called China’s “app for everything,” video games have been Tencent’s largest revenue stream.
Today, Tencent’s gaming empire includes mobile gaming titles like PUBG Mobile, Peacekeeper Elite, and Honor of Kings. However, the Chinese conglomerate also controls stakes in some of the world’s most popular games, including League of Legends, Fortnite, and Clash of Clans.
Between 2010 and 2017, Tencent`s online gaming revenues increased ten times, rising from $1.5bn to $15.1bn. However, the revenue growth significantly slowed down in 2018 after the company got a nine-month game licensing freeze from China’s State Administration of Press and Publications. Statistics show online gaming revenues amounted to over $16bn that year, a modest 5% increase year-over-year.
The licensing approvals resumed in early 2019, with revenues rising to $17.7bn by the end of the year. However, statistics show that 2020 witnessed the biggest gaming revenue growth in the company`s history, as the entire gaming industry surged amid the lockdowns. On top of that, the tech giant launched four new mobile titles during Q4 2020 in China, known as the goldmine of online gaming, and set a few new records for its gaming titles.
While Honor of Kings remained the top-grossing mobile game worldwide, PUBG Mobile ranked as the most popular mobile game worldwide by monthly active users.
Also, Call of Duty Mobile showed the highest DAU for a game launched in 2020, while League of Legends attracted over 45 million peak concurrent players for the 2020 World Championship Finals, a new record for an eSports event.
As a result, Tencent`s gaming revenues exploded and hit $24.1bn last year, an impressive 36% increase year-over-year. The company`s earnings report revealed this made up one-third of the Chinese tech giant’s annual revenue.
PUBG And Honor Of Kings Generated $3.2B In Revenue Last Year
In a country with over 660 million gamers, the gaming market in China is huge and lucrative, and most consumers are highly engaged in mobile gaming.
As the world`s most popular mobile game by monthly active users, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was Tencent`s top-grossing gaming app in 2020 with $1.75 billion in revenue across the Apple App Store and Google Play. Statistics show the multiplayer battle royale game was also Tencent’s most downloaded mobile gaming title of the year, reaching 223.3 million downloads in 2020. Honor of Kings ranked second with $1.48 billion in revenue and close to 25 million downloads.
Moonlight Blade ranked as Tencent`s third-most profitable gaming app with $158.2 million in revenue last year, deep below the two leading titles.
