Tencent is the company behind both Riot Games and Supercell. Following the release of its latest annual revenue report, it has been revealed that last year alone it saw over $21bn in revenue. 
The statement, from company Chairman and CEO Ma Huateng, read as follows: “During 2016, Tencent achieved significant progress in a number of strategic initiatives to further strengthen our leadership, enrich our ecosystem and enhance our competitiveness.
“We launched a number of successful self-developed and licensed games and solidified our position as the leading game company globally.”
You can access the Tencent 2016 financial report here.
Tencent snapped up League of Legends developer Riot Games in 2015 and in 2016 moved into mobile with the acquisition of the majority of shares (85%) in developer Supercell. This was for a fee in the region of $8.6bn. Supercell is the developer of games such as Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.
Tencent’s report also revealed that its online games revenues has grown by 16% year on year to the tune of over $2.6bn. When it comes to esports Tencent isn’t satisifed with only being involved in game development. In August the company announced that it had plans to create an anime called The King’s Avatar it’s to be an adaptation of the manga of the same name which follows the life and times of a former pro gamer called Ye Xiu. This is to in partnership with a company called Yuewen.com, and is said to be being released this year.
It’s involving itself in streaming too; Douyu.TV which is the equivalent of the Twitch for China has around 200 million users monthly and generally 4 million peak concurrent viewers. In summer of last year Tencent led a financing round in the company which generated a total of $226m for the firm.
Esports Insider says: Tencent is a giant with its fingers in many pies in the Asian esports market. A notable 16% growth in online games revenue is impressive and the Supercell acquisition is looking to be a smart move with mobile esports stepping it up a gear this year.