It seems like it’s going to be a very busy year for Tencent this year. Last year, it went through its darkest days thanks to the new regulation in China. Chinese government banned the release of new games for about 9 months. And it also banned a lot of games that deemed bloody, gory and encouraging online betting.
Tencent’s most played game, Player Unknown Battleground, got the biggest impact of the new regulation. While not being banned for the players, in-game purchases are banned. So the company can’t charge the players of the game. It’s a great loss for the company as China is the biggest game market in the world.
Tencent ways of overcoming problems
While waiting for approval from the government, Tencent is setting new strategies. One of it is by having a collaboration with Japanese game company, Nintendo. The two companies secured a partnership to release Nintendo Switch in China.
Just from the announcement for the release, Nintendo gained a 15% increase on its’ stock. The console selling sparks interest from the Chinese market. And the Chinese government seems does not mind the game of the console’s mascot. New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe is set to launch together with the console. While Mario Kart a little later this year.
In the harsh competition of gaming industry, Tencent can’t help but to follow the trend. Previously, its American competitor, Google, just released Google Stadia. Google Stadia is a cloud gaming platform. The online streaming game platform is the newest trend allowing people to play the game without buying the physical copy of the game.
To keep on the track, Tencent released Perfect World. The multiplayer role-playing game is now sixth most downloaded in China’s iOS store. Not just Perfect World, Tencent also launched a new website called “Start” in a trial period for people in Shanghai and Guangdong, China.
The site is reportedly the company’s newest cloud gaming platform. The concept of the site will allow players to play its games “everywhere, anywhere, using almost every device”. It’s going to be a hopeful prospect for the company. As cloud gaming is expecting a $1.3 billion sale by 2023.
