Honor of Kings to invest US$15M for esports in 2024

Tencent and Level Infinite are expected to go big on one of the most popular MOBA games worldwide.

The two companies recently announced a US$15 million total investment to Honor of Kings’ esports circuit.

Jan Jahnke, Level Infinite’s Lead for Global Esports Products, said in a video that this new system will include “local and global tournaments specifically designed for all regions.”

Tencent earlier said it is strengthening Honor of Kings’ global presence. Level Infinite also announced earlier in the month that Honor of Kings will see its global release throughout this year, starting with regions like North Africa, Eastern Europe, South Asia and the Middle East.

“We have established our pro league in Brazil last year (2023) and we are looking to build more in other regions following the game’s launch plans,” Jahnke said.

Among the competitions that will be launched are the Global Invitational Series, with its first season kicking off in Istanbul, Turkiye, in March 2024. A second season will also be planned at an unannounced date later this year.

A midseason invitational is also in the works, with a US$1 Million prizepool.

Honor of Kings is very popular in China, where it is considered by many as the most popular MOBA game in the country since it was launched there in 2015. Key tournaments such as the King Pro League and the Honor of Kings International Championship are just some of the highlight events in the country.

The game currently has an international adaptation called Arena of Valor which was also played in some international tournaments such as the 2018, 2019 and 2021 Southeast Asian Games and the 2021 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.

Honor of Kings attracted controversy worldwide as regulators in China forced Tencent to limit the game time of under-18s to just one hour on weekdays and two hours on public holidays. This rule was further tightened in 2021 to just one hour on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 8pm to 9pm local time.

The move was reported worldwide to be a way for the game to continue to penetrate the Chinese market and please government censors and prevent addictions.

Currently, users under 12 years old in China cannot buy in-game items, while a 50 RMB single charge is the maximum allowed limit, with a cumulative spending limit of 200 RMB per month is allowed for players aged 12-16.

Over-16s can top up 100 RMB per single transaction, and a 400 RMB limit is imposed.

Data from Tencent and Level Infinite say the game is played by over 100 million users worldwide.