Tencent Games

Tencent Games Strategy 2019

Tencent’s strategic pivot in 2019 marks a recovery from the previous year’s regulatory freeze on game licenses, which had triggered the company’s first-ever profit decline.

• Tencent successfully recovered from a 2018 regulatory freeze by migrating 150 million monthly active users from PUBG Mobile to the compliant, self-developed title Peacekeeper Elite, resulting in $5.2 billion in quarterly gaming revenue.
• The company is mitigating domestic regulatory risks through aggressive international expansion, including the acquisition of Western studios like Sharkmob and licensing major IP such as Call of Duty and Street Fighter.
• Tencent is diversifying beyond mobile free-to-play models by growing its WeGame platform to 70 million monthly active users and securing an exclusive partnership to distribute the Nintendo Switch in China.