In an article that analyses the data from their streaming, analysis service and market database that primarily deals with Asian companies, Niko Partners has given some insight into the popularity of Genshin Impact as well as Tencent’s Investments in 2020. These companies include Warframe’s development studio, Digital Extremes and Funcom, the developer behind Conan Exiles and The Secret World Legends.
The breakdown by Niko Partners shows how large Tencent’s investment reach has gone in 2020, with 31 total companies, including 2 acquisitions, and 6 minor stakes in companies outside of Asia, gracing the list. The takeaway from Niko Partners shows that Tencent’s investments seemed to focus on smaller companies, much earlier than they normally would due to increased competition.
“ The change comes after Tencent has faced increasing competition in the games space from large tech firms such as Bytedance and Alibaba, as well as medium sized companies such as Lilith and MiHoYo that have succeeded in spaces where Tencent has seldom invested in. Tencent is in no danger of losing its #1 position in the games market, but it is beginning to feel some pressure as other companies have been able to disrupt its grip on the top ten grossing games chart.”
-Niko Partners
The acquisitions included Funcom early in 2020 and Leyou Technologies in August, the parent company of Digital Extremes, the developer behind Warframe.
The mention of miHoYo in Niko Partner’s quote is more than just an off-hand example as they reported on the same article that Genshin Impact was a top title streamed in China, with over 15 million pre-launch registrations, and over 9.5 million cumulative viewers watching nearly 4000 streamers in December.
With Tencent’s wide reach of investments and the meteoric rise of miHoYo’s popular title Genshin Impact, we will keep our eyes peeled for more information on what we can expect from the growing Asian game market in 2021.
