During a celebratory gala attended by prominent figures from the worlds of entertainment, esports, and music, Tencent announced that its mobile game, Honor of Kings, has achieved a significant milestone of 100 million daily active users. This title has not only established new records for player engagement but has also achieved a number of other remarkable feats.

The game consistently performs as one of the highest-earning mobile games globally, competing closely with PUBG Mobile, which is developed by Lightspeed & Quantum, another studio within Tencent. Gaming has long been a primary revenue source for Tencent, a company more widely recognized for its WeChat messaging application. TiMi Studios is the development team responsible for Honor of Kings, and they have expanded their recruitment efforts in the United States this year to support further international growth.

Honor of Kings is recognized for its role in making the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre popular in China, utilizing thoughtful design elements such as concise gameplay sessions, intuitive controls, integration with esports, and effective use of social networking features, as noted by gaming industry analyst Daniel Ahmad. Notably, the game boasts an unusually high proportion of female players—approximately 50%—in a genre traditionally dominated by male players.

While not consistently acknowledged as an originator of game concepts, Tencent excels at developing effective monetization strategies for mobile games and is a highly valued partner for Western game developers. As an example, the company collaborated on the creation of the mobile adaptation of Activision’s Call of Duty, which exceeded 250 million downloads by June.

The game’s popularity has also attracted some scrutiny. A state-run newspaper criticized Honor of Kings for potentially addicting young players and for presenting inaccurate depictions of historical events. In response, Tencent has strengthened its age verification procedures for players, a practice that has now become standard within the Chinese gaming industry.

TiMi revealed this achievement as Riot Games is currently testing a mobile version of League of Legends, the popular desktop game that originally served as inspiration for Honor of Kings. The international version of Honor of Kings, known as Arena of Valor, has experienced limited success outside of Asia. Now, Riot, which was fully acquired by Tencent in 2015, is preparing to launch its own mobile adaptation, called Wild Rift. TiMi Studios has informed TechCrunch that it is not participating in the development of Riot’s new mobile game.

Alongside this announcement, TiMi also disclosed plans to expand the Honor of Kings brand through derivative works, including two new games in currently undefined genres, an animated series, and a television show.

“There remains considerable potential for continued growth and development of the Honor of Kings intellectual property within China,” stated Li Min, the game’s director and general manager of TiMi Studios, in an interview with TechCrunch. “My goal is to see it evolve and continue to connect with and captivate players for many years to come.”

“A key factor in our success has been the ability to capture significant historical moments, which might otherwise be overlooked by today’s younger generation, and integrate them with contemporary aesthetics within Honor of Kings,” he further explained.

This article was updated on November 2, 2020 to include statements from TiMi Studios.