Vortex Gaming

Tencent is preparing to officially launch 'Honor of Kings', the most played mobile MOBA in the world, in Korea. 'Honor of Kings' is the global service version of the Chinese original 'Wangzhe Rongyao'. 'Honor of Kings' is scheduled to begin pre-registration on May 16 and officially launch on June 20.

'Honor of Kings' is a game that maintains its position as the number one in cumulative global mobile game sales despite excluding P2W (pay to win) elements. The combination of the fast-paced gameplay required in mobile games and the in-depth strategy important to the MOBA genre is cited as a factor in its popularity.

Dean Huang, Chief Designer, said, "The MOBA genre started with 'StarCraft' Usemaps, and many games have come out since then, and 'Honor of Kings' is one of them." He added, "Most MOBAs can only be played on PC, but 'Honor of Kings' aimed to provide the enjoyment of MOBA through mobile devices from the beginning."

'Honor of Kings' was developed by TiMi Studio Group (TiMi) under Tencent. TiMi focused on porting the complexity of the MOBA genre to mobile. They maintained high-level graphics and frame rates while keeping the game package size to a minimum, and ensured that the same experience was provided regardless of the device used to play the game. They also prepared the game so that even beginners can learn it quickly.

The Chinese 'Wangzhe Rongyao' has 105 hero characters. 85 will appear at the time of the Korean launch. Each hero has unique abilities, and the roles and difficulty levels are clearly distinguished. 'Honor of Kings' clarified the relationship between heroes to lead strategic play.

The game supports classic 5vs5, as well as fast-paced 3vs3 and 1vs1 modes. Dean Huang, Chief Designer, said, "We are putting our heart and soul into maintaining fairness," and emphasized, "We are adhering to the principle of not introducing a P2W game design." He added, "We support the use of runes called Arcana for free for a limited time, which we believe is a principle that must be followed as a MOBA game."

TiMi adjusts the balance based on combat data and player feedback collected more than 100 million times a day. AI-based learning models are used for balance adjustments. In addition, TiMi regularly collects opinions and feedback from 'Honor of Kings' professional gamers and uses them as a reference for balance adjustments. Dean Huang, Chief Designer, explained, "These efforts are aimed at providing a stable and balanced gaming experience regardless of player tier."

Henry Li, Head of Localization, Story Design, and Partnerships, said, "'Honor of Kings' strives for 100% localization in various languages," and introduced, "All text in the game has been translated, and the heroes and hero skins also include original voices from local professional voice actors." He also said that dedicated servers have been deployed in each region around the world for smooth service.

TiMi collects feedback from the community through each regional publisher and reflects it in localization. Henry Li said, "We are operating service teams in each region to communicate quickly and transparently with players around the world," and said, "These efforts are expected to rapidly develop 'Honor of Kings' and provide an opportunity to become an important part of the local culture."

Henry Li said, "Cultural relevance that the whole world can relate to is at the heart of how we integrate content into updates and events," and introduced, "In a recent event on the theme of Ramadan, we presented various designs, dedicated events, and new heroes and skins."

'Honor of Kings' actively develops collaborations with various IPs to promote the game. TiMi has collaborated with artists such as Hans Zimmer and Joe Hisaishi, and IP franchises such as SNK, Saint Seiya, and Hello Kitty. In addition, we are working closely with smartphone brands such as Samsung and Apple to implement optimization even on entry-level general devices, and support AAA-class experiences using state-of-the-art technology on flagship devices. In addition, as players become more interested in solving humanity's challenges, we have also included sustainability content such as cultural heritage, agriculture, ecology, and climate in the game.

Henry Li said, "'Honor of Kings' is carefully preparing for both the operation of previously released regions and the global launch," and promised, "We will continue to enrich game content by providing various heroes and events." He emphasized, "We will strengthen our localization capabilities, optimize the device environment, and listen to player feedback to improve the gaming experience."

Syndra Feng, Head of Esports, announced that Tencent will invest $15 million (approximately 20.4 billion won) to revitalize 'Honor of Kings' esports. The budget will be used to create a global esports ecosystem, including the new 'Honor of Kings' Invitational Series and Open Series. Players can participate in the global Invitational tournament from in-game public tournaments and have the opportunity to rise to the stage by ranking up.

TiMi plans to actively build partnerships with esports teams around the world and establish long-term cooperation plans, while expanding the overall esports environment by holding notable international tournaments. In addition, we are actively cooperating with global esports associations and government agencies. 'Honor of Kings' was selected as an official sport for the Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this year, following the Asian Games last year.

Syndra Feng said, "'Honor of Kings' is dedicated to building a global esports ecosystem that nurtures talent from amateur to professional esports players," and expressed confidence that "2024 will be an amazing year for 'Honor of Kings' esports."

Q. Wangzhe Rongyao is popular in China and Southeast Asian markets, but in reality, it is not well-known in Korea. In 2018, an esports competition was held in Korea, but it was withdrawn due to a lack of response. Even at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, Korea was unable to send a Wangzhe Rongyao delegation due to the small number of domestic users. Alternatives such as Wild Rift and Mobile Legends are also being distributed. In this environment, how do you plan to overcome the lack of awareness in Korea?

Dean Huang, Chief Designer = All 'Honor of Kings' employees are doing their best to provide the best experience to players around the world. We are ready to provide the best service to global players with confidence and execution. We also plan to continuously improve our services by actively reflecting user feedback in close cooperation with local customer service teams.

Q. I can't help but compare it to 'League of Legends Mobile'. I'm curious about the special features of 'Honor of Kings' compared to mobile games in the same genre.

Dean Huang, Chief Designer = Please understand that it is difficult to compare 'Honor of Kings' to other games. However, I am confident that Honor of Kings is one of the games with excellent optimization and completeness in the mobile MOBA genre. It perfectly combines the fast-paced gameplay required in mobile games and the in-depth strategic depth that MOBA enthusiasts want, so I would like to call it one of the best games. I sincerely welcome Korean players to join the Honor of Kings community this time.

Q. In the past, Netmarble serviced and terminated 'Pentastorm' based on 'Honor of Kings'. Will the content of this 'Honor of Kings' or the service strategy be different from Netmarble's?

Dean Huang, Chief Designer = There have been major changes in various aspects such as game balance and play mode since the two games were released. I hope that Korean players will also be able to enjoy 'Honor of Kings' like players in other regions.

We plan to introduce more heroes quickly even after the Korean launch. We do not expect the global release to have a major impact on the Chinese version in terms of content and balance.

Q. You said that you will invest $15 million in the esports program. Do you think the prospects for mobile game esports are so bright?

Syndra Feng, Head of Esports = Mobile esports has recorded remarkable growth in recent years. Recognizing this growth, we plan to invest $15 million to support the development of an esports ecosystem that promotes the growth of both amateur and professional players.

Q. I don't understand the collaboration with cultural heritage, agriculture, ecology, and climate. Can you tell me more about the planning and scale of the collaboration?

Henry Li = 'Honor of Kings' has a vast number of players with diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, we are actively paying attention to cultural heritage and cultural issues that players are interested in. In addition, social responsibility is also considered a core value of Honor of Kings. For example, we released Yang Guifei as the first hero in China. About 40 million players have acquired Yang Guifei skins through various play methods, thereby recognizing the historical and cultural background of Yang Guifei.

Q. In Korea, the intensity of mass marketing for mobile games is increasing, but there is an evaluation that the market size is stagnant. If it is a model that avoids P2W, in what areas do you plan to secure profitability?

Dean Huang, Chief Designer = 'Honor of Kings' does not operate a P2W model. Profitability is not an important goal at this stage. The key is to allow all Honor of Kings players, including Korean players, to enjoy mobile MOBA games anywhere. To this end, all employees are doing their best.

Q. If global esports is held, there is expected to be a difference between Korean (global version) users and Chinese users. How do you plan to resolve the differences between users in countries with different release times in esports?

Syndra Feng, Head of Esports = Each player has their own unique play style and preferences. As such, we plan to configure the game to suit each region after the global release, while adjusting our approach to best suit these preferences. As play time increases, all players will become more proficient in the game. In addition, as more tournaments are held and players are more exposed to play, we believe that the experience of various regional teams will develop more evenly.

Q. 'Wangzhe Rongyao' has released special heroes with stories from each country. Is there a plan to release Korean heroes?

Henry Li = We are currently reviewing additional hero candidates and plan to create new heroes inspired by the history and cultural background of the region where the game is released. New hero development takes a long time. But we feel a great sense of pride and are constantly working on it. We hope that players will enjoy using the new heroes after release.

Q. Are there any plans to collaborate with marketing, user events, or esports teams in the Korean market?

Syndra Feng = We are currently establishing specific plans. We look forward to engaging more deeply with the Korean esports community in the future so that we can fully understand their needs.

웹진 인벤이두현 기자
2024-05-16