League of Legends is probably the most well-known MOBA. Another representative of the genre from China had a global release in 2024 and is the most successful game in the world. Although there are many parallels to LoL, it does one important thing better.
What is the most successful game in the world? Honor of Kings was released in China in 2015. It is a pure mobile MOBA and can only be played on a smartphone. In 2024, Honor of Kings received a global release and has since been downloaded over 50 million times on the Play Store. Since 2022, the mobile game has been the highest-grossing game in the world (businessofapps.com).
Currently, Honor of Kings is the most-played mobile MOBA in the world and has a huge esports scene in China. On the same weekend that the Worlds 2025 were held by League of Legends, the Honor of Kings Championships could also be followed. The event set a world record for the highest number of participants in an esports event.
The world of Honor of Kings is expanding with an MMORPG:
What important thing does Honor of Kings do better than LoL? Games like LoL or Dota 2, i.e., MOBAs, are very complex. Even after hundreds of hours, you still haven’t learned everything and will be surprised by new interactions with champions or items. For these highly complex games, the entry point is the biggest hurdle for many newcomers.
Honor of Kings offers a very easy entry point and is, in contrast to others, a less complex MOBA. Each character has fewer abilities than a champ in LoL. Additionally, skills can be automatically targeted at enemies, and there is also an automatic purchase and leveling function for abilities. During a round, you also receive tips about the game.
Matches in Honor of Kings are also significantly shorter. Within 15 to 20 minutes, you experience fast action and can play from anywhere on your phone.
Honor of Kings feels like a simple clone of LoL
Why does Honor of Kings feel like a clone? The map of Honor of Kings is almost identical to the map of LoL. Many paths are very similar, and the jungle camps are located in some of the same places. The terrain is reminiscent of the Summoner’s Rift, and there is a similar distribution of roles.
The well-known summoner spells from LoL are also found in Honor of Kings, even with some of the same names. The well-known Flash, which teleports your champ a short distance, or the important jungler spell Smite, are also present in Honor of Kings. However, there are also some new summoner spells based on original ideas – not everything is a copy.
Further parallels to League of Legends: The item system of Honor of Kings is also similar to that of LoL. Each item provides some stats, such as attack speed, damage, or armor. Additionally, items are accompanied by a passive ability that makes them special.
While in LoL the rune system allows each player to easily customize their preferences by choosing runes for specific effects or stat enhancements, Honor of Kings has a similar system called Arcana. Bonuses divided into 3 categories provide characters with more damage, defense, or regeneration, making it easy to change playstyles.
Lastly, the developers of Honor of Kings celebrated over 260 million players in a month. Although the game is rather unknown here, mobile gamers in China celebrate the MOBA very much: A game like LoL has 260 million players, and you probably have never heard of it.
