Why doesn’t Tencent make client games?
In recent years, Tencent's layout in the field of mobile games has been booming, but it has made relatively few moves in client games (client games). This phenomenon has triggered extensive discussions in the industry: Why does Tencent no longer focus on developing PC games? This article will analyze this issue from multiple perspectives such as market trends, user behavior, and Tencent strategy, and attach hot topics and hot content in the past 10 days as a reference.
1. Market trends and changes in user behavior
With the popularization of mobile Internet, the mobile game market has risen rapidly, while the growth of the client game market has gradually slowed down. The following is game-related data on hot topics across the Internet in the past 10 days:
| hot topics | heat index | Discussion platform |
|---|---|---|
| "Genshin Impact" version 3.0 update | 985,000 | Weibo, Bilibili |
| "Glory of Kings" World Champion Cup | 872,000 | Douyin, Kuaishou |
| "Diablo: Immortal" Chinese server launched | 768,000 | Tieba, Zhihu |
| Steam Summer Sale | 653,000 | Xiaohongshu, Douban |
As can be seen from the table, topics related to mobile games are much more popular than PC games, especially mobile games such as "Honor of Kings" and "Genshin Impact" are far ahead in discussions. This shows that users pay more attention to mobile games and the market demand for client games is relatively weakened.
2. Tencent’s strategic focus shift
As a giant in the domestic gaming industry, Tencent's strategic layout has always followed market trends. The following are Tencent’s changes in game business focus in recent years:
| time | focus areas | Representative products |
|---|---|---|
| Before 2015 | PC game | "League of Legends" and "Crossfire" |
| 2015-2020 | mobile games | "Glory of Kings" and "Peace Elite" |
| 2020 to present | Globalization, cloud gaming | "PUBG Mobile" "Tianya Mingyue Dao Mobile Game" |
Tencent has concentrated its resources on mobile games and global layout, and the priority of client games has naturally declined. In addition, the rise of cloud gaming has also allowed Tencent to see new opportunities. In the future, it may realize cross-platform gaming experience through cloud technology, further weakening the independent status of client gaming.
3. High costs and low returns of client game development
The development cycle of PC games is long and the cost is high, while the development of mobile games is relatively flexible and the return cycle is shorter. The following is the comparative data between client games and mobile games:
| Comparative item | PC game | mobile games |
|---|---|---|
| development cycle | 3-5 years | 1-2 years |
| development cost | Hundreds of millions of RMB | tens of millions of yuan |
| user acquisition cost | higher | lower |
| profit cycle | longer | shorter |
From a business perspective, Tencent’s choice to invest resources in the field of mobile games is a wiser choice.
4. Summary
The reasons why Tencent does not make client games can be attributed to the following points:
1.Market trend changes:Mobile games have become mainstream, and demand for client games has declined.
2.Shift in strategic focus:Tencent focuses on mobile games and globalization.
3.Cost vs. return:PC game development costs are high and the cycle is long, while mobile games are more cost-effective.
In the future, Tencent may further blur the boundaries between client games and mobile games through cloud gaming technology, but client games will still not be Tencent’s focus in the short term.
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