Developed by Tencent Games, Arena of Valor is an adaptation of an arena fighting game (Moba) which is a huge hit in China.

Arena of Valor games are played 5v5, each team spawns on one side of the arena, and you have to attack and advance, either through the main lanes or through the jungle, to dominate the enemy team. The game is played online with players from all over the world, and the games are adapted to mobile gaming with an average duration of 10 minutes per session. There are 40 different heroes to choose from to make each game different, including some from the DC Universe, such as Batman, Wonder Woman or Superman.

It was the most unexpected and, in some ways, the least prominent announcement of Nintendo Direct, the videoconference that Nintendo broadcast worldwide on Thursday. Between the presentations of Doom, Wolfenstein II, of a new role-playing game by the teams of Square Enix (Bravely Default) and a long sequence of Super Mario Odyssey showing among others shirtless Mario, slipped the trailer of ‘Arena of Valor, a competitive game already released this summer on smartphones and well known to experts.

The Mobile “League of Legends”

It’s that behind its still unknown name in the West, Arena of Valor is quite simply the most played game in the world. While Playerunknown’s Battleground has just broken the record for simultaneous players on Steam with 1.3 million users logged in at the same time, the title of Chinese Tencent prances to 50 million daily players. A war machine apparently superior to League of Legends and its 100 million monthly players.

Launched in 2015 under the name King of Glory, then renamed Honor of Kings – its current name in China – Arena of Valor is not a title that stands out for its crazy originality. It uses almost identically all the ingredients of League of Legends, which Tencent also owns, since the takeover of its publisher, Riot Games. Or real-time tactical confrontations, in teams of five, in an arena populated by fantastic creatures.

Where Arena of Valor stands out is in its format and theme. Designed from the outset for mobile gaming, it offers simpler controls, smaller maps and shorter sessions than League of Legends, which is a computer game, as well as partly automated battles. On the other hand, against the galaxy of champions from all kinds of cultures and imaginations developed by Riot, he pits heroes directly drawn from Chinese tradition.

The Strengths of Arena of Valor

  • An arena game with quick games adapted to mobile
  • Play online with players from all over the world
  • Play as 40 heroes, including Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman

An E-Sport Phenomenon in China

The success so far has been overwhelming: launch in mid-2015, 7.5 million daily users six months later, another 50 million a year later. Modelled on League of Legends, Tencent has invested heavily in esports to boost activity around its new flagship game, creating a specialty league, the King Pro League, in 2016.

“The tournament registered more than 70 million spectators via the live broadcasting platforms, including 13 million for the last day. The honour of Kings has exploded the mobile esports scene in China in spectacular fashion, and 2017 is shaping up to be bigger than ever, ”said Daniel Ahmad in an analysis note for Niko Partners.

And that’s not all. According to Hervé Sohm, international business developer and author of a conference on mobile video games in China during the Lille Game Camp in early July, nearly 300 million players could have converted to it in 2018. “King of Glory, the game that hits the mark at the moment, is taking mobile e-sport to a level that we never suspected; it has surpassed PC e-sport. Tencent plans to build a city around esports. “

Timid Debuts on iPhone and Android

For Tencent, a Chinese web giant and the world’s number one video game player, the main challenge now is to successfully export its title. Interviewed in June by Le Monde, Xianming Meng, CEO of the Chinese video game company Wangyuan.com, present for the first time at the E3 Video Game Show, spoke of the new trends in his industry: “Chinese video games have long had an inferiority complex vis-à-vis Western productions. But we have made progress and feel that we are up to the task now. “

Launched August 11 in the West on iOS and Google Play, Arena of Valor has made a small hole so far. On the Google platform, it has accumulated between 1 and 5 million installs worldwide – a very respectable figure but a far cry from the 50 million daily players of its Chinese version. On iOS, it doesn’t appear in the top 50 most downloaded or top-grossing games; It also doesn’t feature in the top 50 most-watched games on the Twitch live streaming platform, unlike other mobile games like Summoner Wars or Clash Royale. Nicolas Cerrato, a founder of the Gamoloco analysis site, remains cautious:

“It peaked during publisher-paid special ops in August but has since fallen. Having said that, I have a feeling, from other information gleaned from people who are into it, that the game is really good and could explode. “

Released late in a market already filled with similar titles, such as Mobile Legends, Heroes Arena or Heroes of Valor, Arena of Valor suffers for the moment from a clear lack of notoriety. Tencent has plenty to come, however. The company, which is working to respond to any negative comments in French, was able to take advantage of Nintendo Direct for additional media coverage. On Switch, where it should have no competitors when it launches in winter, it will be responsible for being the first Chinese game to hit the West.