Tencent is changing its gaming strategy. She will focus on her own IP instead of licensed games
Chinese giant Tencent is not very happy with the results of the gaming division. Although its performance is growing, the company believes that it could have achieved more if it had developed its own projects rather than making games based on Western franchises.
Call of Duty Mobile
The Reuters news agency wrote in detail about what is happening in the Chinese company. We have prepared a squeeze of the material.
- In its latest financial report, Tencent reported that it earned 180 billion yuan ($25 billion) from video games in 2023. This is 5% more than in 2022. It is also a third of the company's total revenue.
- Nevertheless, at an investor event, the head of Tencent, Pony Ma, said that when compared with competitors, he gets the feeling that the company has achieved nothing. NetEase and miHoYo created their own hits while Tencent worked with foreign partners.
- Tencent notes that the development of mobile games based on popular Western franchises brings low profits. This is especially unpleasant, given that Tencent must, in addition to the 30% mobile store commission, pay royalties to partners in 15-20%
- Reuters sources claim that Tencent wants to reduce the amount of royalties to 10%.
- Recently, Tencent launched an investment project, the name of which can be translated as "Spring Bamboo Shoots". As part of it, the company will invest money in the development of small games with innovative gameplay. She is ready to allocate up to 300 million yuan ($42 million) for the game.
- According to Reuters, the Chinese giant decided to make changes partly against the background of a series of gaming failures. In particular, it was affected by the closure of Apex Legends Mobile in May 2023 and the cancellation of the mobile game in the world of NieR in early 2024. And the recently released Call of Duty Warzone Mobile has become a direct competitor to Call of Duty Mobile.
- Not only licensed games had problems, but also Tencent's own projects. One of the latest failures is the Undawn free—to-play zombie shooter, which was released on PC and mobile devices in June 2023. According to Reuters sources, the game's budget was about 1 billion yuan, or about $ 140 million at the current exchange rate. More than 300 people were involved in the development of the shooter, and actor Will Smith (Will Smith), who played one of the characters, Trey Jones's guide, participated in its promotion.
- As part of the new strategy, Tencent has already revised its attitude towards the development of Assassin's Creed Jade, a mobile game licensed by Ubisoft, the events of which take place in medieval China. According to Reuters, the company has transferred hundreds of people from the project team to DreamStar, a game that should compete with NetEase's Eggy Party. The release of Assassin's Creed Jade was allegedly postponed from 2024 to 2025.