Honor of Kings, Tencent’s massively popular MOBA, has become Brazil’s most downloaded free mobile game in the country less than a month after its release.
According to Chinese financial outlet Baijing, via Technode, with more than two million pre-registered players before launch, Honor of Kings is Brazil’s most popular free-to-play mobile game by downloads. This is not unsurprising as the game received a heavy push prior to launch, with giveaways, exclusive trailers and even a tournament right out of the gate.
All of this appears to have paid off for Tencent and TiMi studios, as the game has been a huge success. In no small part thanks to the effort that went into preparing the game for the Brazilian market, including the introduction of dedicated servers for the Brazilian region, which tends to suffer from difficulty in online games due to poor connections to outside servers.
“Right at launch, Brazilian players can enjoy a fully localised experience, with all text, UI, plus voiceover for all Heroes and their skins in Brazilian Portuguese. Furthermore, prominent voice actors well-known for voicing iconic characters lent their talent to Honor of Kings. These include Wendel Bezerra, best known for his role as Goku from Dragon Ball Z, voicing Wukong; Kacau Gomes, the actress who dubbed Disney’s Mulan, taking on the role of Mulan; and Letícia Quinto, who voiced Saori Kido in the Saint Seiya anime, voicing Athena in the game. By bringing voices that are well recognized by Brazilian fans, Level Infinite and TiMi aim to show their appreciation of Brazilian culture and better immerse fans in the world of Honor of Kings.”
Localisation, localisation, localisation
The launch of Honor of Kings and the subsequent success can likely, in no small part, be attributed to this localisation effort and the high profile of the release. Brazil boasts a massive gaming population across all platforms, and anime like Dragon Ball Z and Saint Seiya are cornerstones of culture within the country.
The success of Honor of Kings couldn’t come at a better time for Tencent as the company continues to recover from the after-effects of Chinese regulatory crackdowns during 2021-2022. If Honor of Kings launch can be replicated in other regions, the game may soon eclipse even other major MOBAs like League of Legends not just in China but worldwide too. And if that success can be replicated with other games, then there’s a whole host of formerly Chinese exclusive games that could soon be major titles internationally.
