In China, Honor of Kings is one of the biggest games, and now the MOBA aims to convince the western market as well. In an interview, the developers explain what they plan to do.
What is Honor of Kings? Honor of Kings is the most played MOBA on mobile devices worldwide. In 2020, over 100 million people played the game daily on average. In the MOBA genre, Dota 2 and League of Legends are particularly well known in our region.
Initially, Honor of Kings was only available in Asia, but now more and more countries are joining. Recently, the game has also become available in Germany. This is reason enough for MeinMMO to ask the developers about their plans for the game.
You can watch the trailer for Honor of Kings here:
How Honor of Kings Aims for Success
MeinMMO: How will you ensure that Honor of Kings can replicate its success in the West as it did in China?
TiMi Studio: There is no guarantee that we can replicate the same success. Therefore, we can only strive to create the best possible chance through our player-focused approach. There is no guarantee that we can replicate the same success. Therefore, we can only strive to create the best possible chance through our player-focused approach.
What does that look like?
Since the game’s release, we have analyzed millions of hours of gameplay and made several updates and adjustments to continuously improve the player experience.
After launching in Brazil last year and in the Middle East and Turkey earlier this year, we were able to gather feedback from a new community of players and make further improvements to the game.
A great example of this is the amount of free space required to install the game. We have worked hard to keep this as low as possible while maintaining high visual quality. This ensures that players with older mobile devices can enjoy the game just like those with the latest high-end smartphones.
In addition, Honor of Kings is free to play and provides fair competition, meaning that players’ success does not depend on their financial capabilities but on their actions on the battlefield.
To further facilitate fair play, we have our own robust matchmaking system that ensures balanced matches against players with similar ranks. With the global launch, we will continue to listen to our new players and strive to make Honor of Kings even better.
MeinMMO: What differences do you generally expect between the West and China? Are there specifics to consider in the West?
TiMi Studio: We have observed that players from the East and West have different attitudes towards playing competitive games on mobile phones, which may be due to the differing developmental histories of PC and console games in the various markets.
However, we are pleased that more and more western players are considering playing a competitive mobile game, which represents an opportunity for Honor of Kings.
We highly value the western market and aim to provide rich and diverse content for western players in the future while maintaining the core experience of the game. This way, we hope to excite them about Honor of Kings.
MeinMMO: With League of Legends: Wild Rift, there is already a good alternative for a MOBA on mobile. How will Honor of Kings differ?
TiMi Studio: For us, competition is a good thing. We are the most played mobile MOBA in the world, but if we want to maintain this position, we cannot let up.
We must continue to listen to our community, create new content, and leverage the latest features of mobile devices. That is the challenge, and we will meet it.
MeinMMO: Are you planning to build an e-sports scene in the West?
TiMi Studio: Absolutely, competitive play is an integral part of the appeal of Honor of Kings, and therefore we are committed to building a global e-sports ecosystem that promotes talent from the grassroots level to professional e-sports players.
This year, we are investing 15 million USD in our e-sports program, which includes the Honor of Kings Invitational Series for established e-sports organizations and the Open Series for newcomers.
We are dedicated to promoting the long-term development of clubs and will collaborate with local e-sports organizations to provide high-profile international gaming events for players and audiences.
Starting June 29, 13 teams from around the world will compete in the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 2 for a share of the prize pool of 300,000 USD and eight guaranteed spots for the Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason | Esports World Cup.
MeinMMO: Are there already plans for other well-known licenses that can be associated with Honor of Kings? If so, can you already name any specifically?
TiMi Studio: We have conducted some collaborations in the past and are actively exploring possible integrations. New collaborations are planned with brands such as Saint Seiya, SNK, Hello Kitty, and Bruce Lee, and we will share more about this as soon as possible.
MeinMMO: Honor of Kings has more female players than male players, which is quite unusual for the genre. The connection to WeChat plays a significant role in this. Is it your goal to build a large female player base in the West as well, and if so, how do you plan to achieve that?
TiMi Studio: It is always our goal to promote a safe and welcoming community where like-minded players can meet and play together. We hope that these conditions will motivate players with different backgrounds to experience Honor of Kings.
MeinMMO: Do you have recommendations for which champs to check out for beginners? Which ones are particularly beginner-friendly?
TiMi Studio: We have designed tutorials specifically for newcomers and recommend heroes like Angela and Hou Yi for those just starting out.
We also encourage players to interact with us through the social features in the game or our accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Discord. Our goal is to help players quickly experience all the excitement of Honor of Kings.
MeinMMO: Can you give us 5 general tips for beginners?
TiMi Studio:
- Select heroes that are easy to handle in the beginning
- Follow the recommended lanes for your heroes to ensure balanced teamwork with teammates
- Pay attention to the minimap to observe the positions of allies and enemies
- Use voice chat or communicate via quick messages for smooth collaboration
- Remember: Honor of Kings is a team game, so always trust your teammates
To ensure that your entry into the MOBA is successful, you can secure free items right away. We have gathered all the codes that are currently valid in Honor of Kings and explained what you can do if they do not work: Honor of Kings: All codes that you can redeem in June 2024
