Call of Duty Mobile may be the plan for Tencent to expand its revenue and focus on building out a more global brand. While the Chinese company already has its roots planted in regions outside of its home market thanks to Arena of Valor, the international version of its popular Honour of Kings MOBA game in China, the company is reported to have been diligently working on new revenue streams.
By now it might be known by many who are already aware of Call of Duty Mobile that Tencent is behind its development, but it might not be as apparent that the decision to adapt the popular gaming franchise for mobile devices and then release that mobile game to other popular gaming markets outside of China was a strategic move.
China’s gaming market faces issues that aren’t necessarily present in other regions, like more severe regulation on the violence within online games that are accessible to players, or a specific amount of screen time that’s allowed for users under a certain age.
For years Tencent has been one of China’s most profitable companies, and is currently the world’s largest game developer due to the number of games it either develops or games it owns the rights to for publishing within China.
This includes the likes League of Legends, PUBG and PUBG MOBILE, Fortnite, Clash of Clans and clash Royale, Path of Exile, and Rainbow Six: Siege among others. Worth noting is that it doesn’t own all of those games, as some it only owns the rights to publishing within its home market.
But China’s take on a more heavy hand with violence online as well as dwindling screen time for younger users had forced the company to look into other ways to make money and keep its growth at an incline. Call of Duty Mobile looks to be a big piece of that.
Call of Duty is one of the highest selling game franchises globally, making it a perfect target for Tencent when it came to choosing a game it could develop from the ground up for mobile devices that would help in the nature of a slowing Chinese economy.
Though the game will reportedly be free once it hits devices in multiple regions including North America, Latin America, Europe and Southeast Asia, the game will have micro transactions available that allow gamers to optionally purchase items which could be used in-game. These could be anything from aesthetic items such as costumes and ornaments for weapons to boosts which might increase experience for a short period of time. No doubt there will be loot boxes, too.
It’s these in-game purchases which are likely to help drive the money that Tencent is hoping to make with the game once it officially launches, and with a franchise as big as Call of Duty there’s a good chance it could bring in some serious cash.
Call of Duty Mobile will offer multiple game mode types to players from standard multiplayer to a story-driven solo game type, and it was confirmed in May that it would include a Battle Royale mode that was built specifically for mobile. The game is currently in beta in a few different regions and is slated for a release in the US and other major markets later this year.