Latest news with #HonorofKings'
TECHx
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- TECHx
Honor of Kings Interview: Custom Hero and Beyond
Home » Editor's pick » Honor of Kings Interview: Custom Hero and Beyond Game Producer Dean Huang shares insights into Honor of Kings' evolution, new features, and future roadmap. Honor of Kings continues to expand its global presence. As the gaming market grows across the MENA region, where 70% of the population is online, the title is gaining strong traction. TECHx Media spoke with Dean Huang, Game Producer of Honor of Kings , to explore the game's latest updates, including its first customizable hero and what's coming next for players around the world. A Mobile MOBA Designed for Accessibility For those new to the game, Honor of Kings is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) title made for mobile devices. In each match, two teams of five players compete to destroy the opponent's crystal. 'Before each battle, players choose from over 100 Heroes,' said Huang. 'Each Hero has their own strengths, weaknesses, and backstory.' This structure helps keep gameplay fresh while encouraging strategic thinking. Flowborn: Customizable Hero Feature One of the major updates is the launch of Flowborn , a customizable hero. According to Huang, this addition reflects the team's evolving design goals. 'In most MOBA games, players control predefined Heroes,' he said. 'But we wanted to try something different. What if players could enter the battle with a style and skill set of their choosing?' Flowborn is the result of that idea. Players can choose between three classes: Mage, Marksman, or Tank. They can also adjust appearance and play style. Maintaining Balance for Long-Time Players With a large daily active user base, adding new features brings challenges. 'We need to keep existing players engaged and also attract new ones,' Huang explained. 'This means adding new content like Heroes, while ensuring fair gameplay.' The team works closely with the player community. Feedback plays a key role in balancing new additions. Huang emphasized that success in Honor of Kings is determined by player performance, not purchases. 'Our approach is always free and fair to play,' he said. Challenges in Development Introducing a fully customizable hero brought new technical and creative demands. 'Balancing Flowborn was more complex than usual,' said Huang. 'Each class needed to feel distinct but not overpower others.' The team conducted internal testing but remains open to ongoing feedback. 'We'll continue to fine-tune based on how players respond,' he added. Global Roadmap As Honor of Kings expands globally, new features and collaborations are in development. 'We are exploring new gameplay modes and updates that take advantage of improved mobile hardware,' Huang said. The team is also working on brand partnerships that will be revealed later this year. 'We have some exciting collaborations lined up,' he confirmed. 'We'll share more soon.' As mobile gaming continues to rise in the MENA region, Honor of Kings is adapting with new features like customizable heroes and player-driven design updates. TECHx Media will continue to follow its journey and how it shapes the MOBA space globally.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tencent Posts Solid Results as AI Investments Start to Pay Off
Tencent Holdings' revenue growth accelerated in the first quarter as its core gaming business remained strong and ramped-up spending on artificial intelligence began to pay off. The company, China's largest by market capitalization, said Wednesday that AI capabilities have started to contribute tangibly to its advertisement and game businesses. The Unraveling of the King of Davos Can UnitedHealth's New Boss Succeed Where Other 'Boomerang' CEOs Failed? ESPN's New Streaming Service Will Cost $29.99 a Month Microsoft Slashing Thousands of Workers, Including Management Jobs 'MAGA Accounts': What to Know About the $1,000 Child Savings Pitch in the Tax Bill Tencent's first-quarter revenue climbed 13% from a year earlier to 180.02 billion yuan, equivalent to $24.98 billion, topping analysts' expectations. That marked a pickup from the single-digit growth seen in previous quarters. The Chinese technology giant has been investing more and more in AI to compete against rivals and enhance its offerings in gaming, social media, digital payments and cloud services. Tencent's capital expenditure surged more than 300% in the fourth quarter as it snapped up graphics processing units–and it plans to accelerate spending further. Company president Martin Lau said after the 2024 results that its capex will likely account for a low-teen percentage of revenue this year. First-quarter capital spending almost doubled from a year ago to 27.48 billion yuan but was down from the 36.58 billion yuan recorded in the final quarter of 2024. Analysts say that Tencent's increased spending and use of multiple AI models, both third-party and its own, will drive monetization and could lead to the creation of a powerful AI ecosystem. Its net profit rose 14% to 47.82 billion yuan during the quarter, missing the 52.12 billion yuan estimated by analysts in a FactSet poll. Tencent's bread-and-butter gaming business maintained strong momentum, with the domestic division delivering a 24% sales gain, boosted by a low base and legacy titles 'Honor of Kings' and 'Peacekeeper Elite,' as well as last year's breakout hit 'Dungeon & Fighter Mobile.' Revenue from the international gaming business increased 23%. AI-powered ad targeting and creation helped lift Tencent's marketing services revenue by 20% in the first three months of the year despite challenging macro conditions. Citi analysts viewed the results as 'a stronger-than-expected print,' supported by continued levers of sustainable growth of high-margin revenue streams and signs of AI-enhancing benefit. Continuous AI advertising tech upgrades could make Tencent's ad revenue growth more durable than that of global peers, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a recent note. That is largely due to the valuable user data it can use from the mini-programs and payment services embedded in its popular do-everything app, Weixin. Weixin and its overseas version, WeChat, had a combined 1.40 billion monthly active users as of the end of March. Tencent said operating leverage from existing high-quality revenue streams can help absorb the costs of investing more in new opportunities, such as its Yuanbao chatbot application and AI features on Weixin. The company's use of AI and solid earnings performances have helped make it one of the hottest Chinese tech stocks of 2025. Data from Wind showed that Tencent was one of the top three most purchased stocks via the Hong Kong Southbound Connect program over the past three months. Concerns about U.S. tariffs have taken some of the wind out of the broader rally in Chinese tech shares, tempering enthusiasm about the emergence of homegrown AI startups like DeepSeek. Tencent's business is relatively resilient to tariff risks as it makes most of its revenue in China. The stock is still up 25% so far this year, but tightened U.S. controls on advanced chips could disrupt AI ramp-up efforts. The U.S. government said last month that Nvidia will now need a license to export its H20 processors to China and several other countries. Chinese AI players, including Tencent, use the chips to power their AI efforts. Still, analysts think Tencent's strong H20 chip inventory will likely leave it less exposed to the latest U.S. restrictions. There is also a growing number of domestic substitutes for the chip. Coming earnings from Tencent's peers Alibaba and Baidu will offer a broader picture of how the Chinese tech industry is holding up amid the pressure. Write to Sherry Qin at Apple to Support Brain-Implant Control of Its Devices Trump's China Deal Makes Sense. How He Got Here Doesn't. United Adds Caviar Service and Luxe Jammies in Race for Superpremium Travelers Mild April Inflation Captures Early Stages of Tariff Effects Trump's Drug-Price Crackdown, Like His Trade War, Could Be More Bark Than Bite Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
