Tencent's six-month game revenue breaks $100 billion, overseas market jumps 70%!

Tencent has released its first half 2024 earnings report. The results show that in the second quarter of 2024, Tencent's total revenue reached RMB 161.1 billion (about $22.6 billion), an increase of 8% from the same period last year. In terms of gross profit, Tencent realized 85.9 billion yuan (about 12.1 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of up to 21 percent year-on-year, showing a significant improvement in the company's profitability.

Non-IFRS, Tencent's operating profit reached RMB 58.4 billion ($8.2 billion), up 27 percent year-on-year, and operating margin rose to 36 percent from 31 percent a year earlier.

Tencent's layout in the gaming field has been attracting much attention, and its gaming business has now built up a dual-wheel-driven development pattern of “international + local”. It has accelerated the expansion of overseas markets from early well-planned overseas investments to current self-developed games.

As a star product under Supercell, “Wild Gone Wild” is undoubtedly an important driver of Tencent's game growth in the international market. According to SensorTower data, the game's overseas revenue rose 70% in the first half of the year, a clear sign of recovery.

Since September last year, its revenue has gradually picked up, and this quarter's year-on-year water flow has increased more than 10 times, and the quarterly average number of daily active users has hit a record high, ranking third in the number of daily active users in the international handheld game market. This is mainly due to the game through the new season, Battlepass and other activities to maintain user stickiness, daily water continues to climb, the first half of the global revenue generation of more than 500 million U.S. dollars, a year-on-year growth of nearly four times.

And Supercell's new product Squad Busters once entered the Top 10 of the U.S. iOS bestseller list, with global revenue of more than $45 million in June. This game not only enriches Tencent's game matrix, but also brings new growth points for the company.

PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Handheld Game, two handheld games, remain the fundamentals of Tencent's overseas business as evergreen products, and they have maintained stable and sizable revenues globally. Tencent has ensured the continued success of these two games in different countries and regions through its deep localization strategy and global distribution network.

Tencent's self-developed Honor of Kings surpassed 50 million users in its first month of launch in the Southeast Asian market, and its revenue grew 575% YoY in June. Its performance in the Southeast Asian and U.S. markets was particularly outstanding, contributing 33% and 26% of overseas revenue respectively, making it one of the games with the largest growth in downloads in the local market.

And in February this year, from Sensor Tower's revenue list, Honor of Kings sucked in $248 million in the global App Store and Google Play, reigning as the champion of the global handheld game best-seller list.

In the field of end-game, “Dark Zone Breakout: Infinite” has gained millions of reservations in the overseas market and has been honored on the STEAM platform's wish list as the second best domestic game, which has received warm attention from many overseas players. The game has successfully ranked among the heads in the segmented track of survival for gold, and its IP has gradually shown its market value.

According to the official disclosure, the game has optimized and adjusted the minimum graphics card requirement, lowering it to GEFORCE GTX960, so that more popular players can experience the hardcore game play. After taking the lead in showing its potential in overseas markets, the game is also expected to bring new development opportunities for the game business in the local market.

Tencent Games has achieved a comprehensive overseas layout through agency distribution, accelerated overseas launch of self-developed games and in-depth localization strategy. For example, after investing in Supercell, Tencent successfully obtained the distribution rights of global popular games such as Clash of Clans and Royal War, further solidifying its leading position in the international market.

At the same time, Tencent continues to explore new game types and niche tracks to meet the diverse needs of players in different regions around the world. In the secondary yuan field, Tencent made new breakthroughs with the distribution of games such as Goddess of Victory: Nikki; and in the Southeast Asian market, the success of Tencent's self-developed products in going to sea has further expanded its business territory.

Summarizing the data from Tencent's latest financial report and the ranking of the gaming industry, Tencent's gaming business has not only maintained a strong growth momentum, but is also steadily crossing the traditional business boundaries and actively expanding its global market territory, effectively expanding its market share globally and further consolidating its position as a global gaming giant.