Gaming company Tencent and publisher Level Infinite have announced major esports plans surrounding its popular mobile MOBA game Honor of Kings.
The game’s esports circuit is to undergo significant upgrades and changes in 2024, including high-profile tournaments in more markets and a total of $15m (~£11.8m) in investment to help grow the game globally.
The news was shared by Jan M. Jahnke, Lead for Global Esports Products at Level Infinite via a video.
Honor of Kings is a mobile MOBA game developed by Chinese company Tencent. The game is very popular in its home region, with several high-profile tournaments such as the King Pro League and the Honor of Kings International Championship. The International Championship recorded the second-largest prize pool in all of esports in 2023, totalling $10m (~£7.8m). Western audiences might be more familiar with the name Arena of Valor, which is Honor of Kings’ international adaptation.
For 2024, Tencent aims to work more towards expanding Honor of Kings’ global presence. Level Infinite announced earlier this month that Honor of Kings will see its global release throughout this year, starting with North Africa, Eastern Europe, South Asia and the Middle East.
To further support the global ambitions, the game’s creators announced the Honor of Kings Invitational Series which will have two seasons in 2024, each with its own LAN finals. The finals of Season 1 will take place in Istanbul, Turkey.
Along with the Invitational Series, the company aims to create more localised leagues in the mentioned markets, similar to its Pro League which was recently created in Brazil.
Between the two seasons, Honor of Kings teams will participate in the Midseason Invitational tournament, which is set to have a prize pool of $1m. At the end of the year, an Invitational Championship will take place, but specific details about the tournament were not shared.
It is also unclear how will these moves fit in with existing Arena of Valor tournaments, and whether the creators aim to combine the two games into just Honor of Kings in 2024.
