MapleStory 2 – China server enters first beta phase next month

Late last year, Tencent Games was announced as the publisher for MapleStory 2 in China. At the annual Tencent UP event yesterday, it was revealed the first beta test phase will begin next month. Now boasting full 3D voxel graphics, isometric view,…

League of Legends – Official theme song for China server revealed

Today is the start of the annual Tencent UP conference, and even before that began, the official theme song for League of Legends China was revealed yesterday. Performed by Jay Chou, a League of Legends fanatic and darling celebrity of…

League of Legends – Tencent pursuing lawsuits against developers

If you did not know, Riot Games recently became a full subsidiary of China’s Tencent. Even before the deal was done, Tencent, as the majority shareholder, begun pursuing lawsuits against Chinese studios which made use of champions from League of Legends to…

Monster Hunter Online – New boss dragon and weapon arriving soon

Co-developed by Tencent Games and Capcom using CryEngine, and exclusive to China, Monster Hunter Online is getting a major update next week. Tigrex, a Flying Wyvern type which first appeared in Monster Hunter Freedom 2, will be making its online…

Naruto Mobile – Side-scroll action mobile game launches in China

If you did not know, Tencent Games signed a deal with Japanese manga publisher Shueisha and games developer Namco Bandai back in 2013 to make games based on Naruto. Thus far, Naruto Online, a browser game, has been released. Just…

Monster Hunter Online – Tencent will work with Capcom on other games

Monster Hunter Online recently launched in China under the watchful eyes of partners Tencent Games and Capcom. The game’s producer, Mr Tao from Tencent, gave an interview where he stated the co-operation with Capcom does not stop at Monster Hunter…

Blade & Soul – Cosmetic wings set to launch in China server this month

Blade & Soul will soon get its own cosmetic wings in the China server’s cash shop. While it was mentioned these wings would not turn the tide in battle, they still do give passive bonuses. The first 2 wings apparently…

Riot Games – League of Legends dev is now 100% owned by Tencent

[Source] Revealed recently in a company blog post, League of Legends developer Riot Games is now wholly owned by China internet giant Tencent. It reads “our majority investor, Tencent, recently purchased the remaining equity of Riot Games,” which could not…

Tencent – China giant tops ranking list for 2014 global game revenues again

According to the latest report from research firm Newzoo, Tencent is once again at the top of the global game revenues ranking list for 2014, successfully defending its crown from 2013. The China giant has minimal influence in the West,…

Tencent – Game highlights from annual UP press conference

Yesterday, Tencent held its annual press conference, covering several entertainment businesses including comics (or manga), movies, TV shows and of course, games. The biggest IT company in China earned USD 4 billion in profits for 2014, and it is not…

Tencent – Record year for IT giant in 2014 with USD 4 billion profits

When I first started researching the China market, a colleague joked with me about Tencent, claiming the company might just worth ten cents since it is from China. Today, Tencent announced that its profits increased 53% in 2014 from 2013 (year…

Tencent – China IT giant working with Microsoft to promote Windows 10

As an active gamer of Tencent Games, I experienced first hand the tortures when Windows 8 and 8.1 launched. Applications and games, including Blade & Soul back then, could not run in the first few months. Tencent has seen the…

Tencent – Thousands queue to get red packet from company founder

After the week-long Lunar New Year (or Spring Festival) break, Chinese bosses usually give their employees a red packet to signal the starting of work. This is the same for Tencent, which is a majority shareholder of Epic Games, Riot Games,…

Tencent – Final design for new $300 million global headquarters revealed

Tencent Holdings, most well-known for its Tencent Games department, recently revealed the final design for its new $300 million global headquarters. Situated in Nanshan Hi-Tech Park, Shenzhen, China, the building will occupy a massive 18,650 square meters. Part of the design…