The Growth Dividends of the Nation’s Favorite Game: “Honor of Kings” Mentioned 37 Times in Financial Reports

Today (March 18, 2026), Tencent released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. The report shows that Tencent’s gaming business generated annual revenue of 241.6 billion yuan, a year-over-year increase of 22%, with revenue from the domestic market reaching 164.2 billion yuan.

In the earnings report, “Evergreen Games” once again emerged as a frequently mentioned term. The report specifically highlighted *Honor of Kings*: game revenue in the domestic market grew by 18% year-over-year, driven by revenue growth from evergreen games such as *Honor of Kings*. This marks the 37th time *Honor of Kings* has been mentioned in Tencent’s earnings reports.

Stepping back from the official context of financial reports and examining this product over a longer timeframe, we find that *Honor of Kings*’ dominance at the top of the charts has long been the norm. According to Qimai Data’s rankings, *Honor of Kings* topped the overall best-seller chart for 191 days in 2025 and held the top spot on the gaming chart for a full 300 days. Its success wasn’t achieved through a few major version updates, but rather through consistent performance throughout the year.

Through meticulous operations, *Honor of Kings* has not only continued to expand its user ecosystem and commercial value from an already massive user base, but has also maintained the agile evolution typical of cutting-edge products. Through its actions, it has redefined the standards for “evergreen games” and continues to push the boundaries of the Chinese mobile gaming market.

Its achievements are no longer news, as it has itself become the benchmark that defines the industry’s “standard.” But a question more worthy of industry scrutiny than “how high this benchmark is” is this: in an era of a saturated market and increasingly short-lived blockbusters, why doesn’t it slip in performance—and why does it manage to set a new record every single year?

01

A Dominance That People Have Come to Take for Granted

To appreciate the enduring appeal of *Honor of Kings*, one must first recognize just how solid its foundation is. In today’s gaming market, a smooth and steady growth curve often holds greater value than a “spike-like” surge in monthly revenue.

According to data released during the 10th Anniversary Co-Creation Night last October, the daily active user (DAU) count for the Chinese server of "Honor of Kings" has surpassed 139 million, while its global monthly active user (MAU) count exceeds 260 million. Considering the total pool of 683 million gamers in China as reported in the "2025 China Game Industry Report," this translates to a more intuitive statistic: one out of every five Chinese gamers plays "Honor of Kings" every day.

The same report also notes that the MOBA genre leads all domestic mobile game genres with a 19.45% share of revenue, making it clear who holds the top spot in this sector.

This massive user base has directly translated into remarkable commercial certainty. According to statistics from the third-party firm DianDian Data, "Honor of Kings" generated total revenue of 35.588 billion yuan across all channels in 2025, once again claiming the top spot on the global mobile game revenue chart.Entering 2026, this growth engine continues to roar: January revenue reached 3.054 billion yuan, leaving the second-place competitor far behind with nearly double the revenue; during the February Lunar New Year holiday season, revenue exceeded 970 million yuan, a significant year-over-year increase of 24.8%.

Interestingly, despite these dominant figures, the gaming community’s reaction has been surprisingly subdued. In discussion threads across major social media platforms about the annual mobile game revenue rankings, you’ll find almost no expressions of awe; the most upvoted comments are often tongue-in-cheek remarks like: “It took me just 0.1 seconds to guess who came in first,” “I’ve already figured out who’ll be number one next year and the year after that,” and “Barring any surprises, this year is yet another year without any surprises.”

When "staying far ahead of the competition" has become the public's default expectation, it actually hides a difficult question for the industry: How can a decade-old game continue to attract hundreds of millions of paying players?

02

Once a game has surpassed 100,000 players, how should long-term products expand their content offerings?

For long-term MOBA games, as the hero pool grows increasingly deep, developers often face a balancing act: they must continue to provide players with fresh gameplay mechanics without resorting to numerical inflation, while also enriching character appearances and backstories without compromising the game’s original cultural essence—ensuring that character designs do not become increasingly one-dimensional over the course of long-term operation.

Looking back at Honor of Kings’ moves in 2025, you’ll see that they’ve chosen a path that’s more challenging but also more sustainable: making the mechanics serve the narrative.

Take "Sun Quan," the breakout hero of last year’s summer season, as an example. In traditional understanding, marksmen are typically limited to stationary damage dealing or kiting to wear down opponents. However, Sun Quan was equipped with a dual-form switching mechanism: "Rapid Shortbow" and "Banner of Command."This is not merely a minor innovation in gameplay, but a precise interpretation of the historical figure’s traits: the damage reduction from his passive ability, “Seating the Southeast,” symbolizes his solid defensive foundation in Jiangdong, while the close-range burst of his ultimate ability recreates the bravery he displayed during his personal campaign against Hefei.

Even more remarkable is the use of color aesthetics. Sun Ce is represented by a bold red, Sun Shangxiang by a vibrant green, while Sun Quan’s primary color is boldly set as blue. This is not intended to distinguish factions, but rather to reflect his character as a steady commander and strategist who is accustomed to cleaning up after his siblings. The interplay of red, green, and blue completes a family narrative within the Rift.

This design helped the new hero quickly gain a wide following after its release, with many players praising it: “From the abilities to the color scheme, it’s brimming with narrative depth—it’s fantastic.”

Some players have commented: “Sun Quan has made me rethink the marksman role,” and “This hero is so well-designed that I’m tempted to get back into the game just for him.” It turns out that a fresh narrative can still spark a strong desire to jump back into the game.

If refining the core mechanics is about solidifying the player base, then when it comes to premium content—which determines the upper limit of monetization—Honor of Kings is also trying to break the mold.

When it comes to IP collaborations, the biggest criticism from players is the clunky "skin reskinnings." However, in its collaborations throughout 2025, "Honor of Kings" executed a series of well-coordinated moves, turning every in-app purchase into brand equity.

Starting with an aesthetic foundation, they drew inspiration from the collaboration with Mucha, a national treasure of the Czech Republic, and incorporated the concept of “nature as art” into Diao Chan’s skill effects, prompting players to exclaim, “I discovered a master artist through a single skin.”

Delving deeper into the character’s spiritual essence, the *Frozen* collaboration did not simply replicate Elsa’s iconic blue dress. Instead, it ingeniously incorporated a dual-form design: the white dress worn in the “Return from the Ride” scene serves as the core look, symbolizing an awakening that breaks free from constraints, while the classic blue dress worn while building the ice castle appears as a random alternate form triggered by the ultimate ability.This fully captures the character’s journey of self-discovery.

But what truly wowed players was the crossover with the phenomenally popular web novel *The Lord of the Mysteries*. Faced with the vast and complex lore of the novel, the team didn’t take a half-hearted approach; instead, they seamlessly integrated the core mechanics of the original work into the MOBA skill system: Yuange corresponds to the “Spirit Thread” puppet, while Dasi Ming corresponds to the “Death Regent.”

This pixel-perfect recreation of the mechanics has successfully created a sense of "familiar strangeness" between the two IPs. Fans of the original works have taken to the comments section to exclaim: "A dream come true for fans of both! Yuange's puppet is just like Klein's Spirit Thread, and the Grand Fate's scythe is a perfect replica of Azek's Death Magistrate—the attention to detail is off the charts!"

Every IP that has partnered with *Honor of Kings* has also achieved maximum brand revitalization and nationwide exposure, resulting in a clear win-win situation.

03

Rejecting fast-food-style output, we’ve built a cultural foundation over the past decade

If commercial collaborations have broadened the scope of *Honor of Kings*, then collaborations with traditional culture have forged its irreplaceable depth.

To be honest, cultural preservation in the gaming industry is nothing new, but most products remain at the level of “capitalizing on trends”—

However, King has chosen a “hard-nosed” approach that relies heavily on physical assets. Looking back over the past decade, from the flying apsaras of the Mogao Caves and the Baiheliang carvings along the Yangtze River to the bronze sacred tree of Sanxingdui, the company has collaborated with more than 30 intangible cultural heritage institutions across the country. This is by no means a series of isolated marketing campaigns, but rather a systematic cultural project that has spanned a decade.

The two major projects in 2025 and 2026 offer a striking contrast between the past and the present. Last year, to mark the 10th anniversary, the team invited Zhang Yimou to serve as artistic director and spent 11 months refining the Sanxingdui collaboration.

Rather than simply piling up artifacts, the creators used the “eye” as a visual symbol and drew on contemporary film and television techniques to transform iconic elements—such as the mask with protruding eyes, the bronze sacred tree, and the sun disc—into special effects and character designs for the heroes. Houyi is portrayed as a priest who bridges heaven and earth, while Yang Jian’s third eye blends seamlessly with the mask featuring protruding eyes.The ancient Shu civilization of three thousand years ago has been given vibrant digital life within the canyons.

Then, for the 2026 Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse), they launched the "Paths Through the Ages" series in collaboration with six major cultural and museum institutions, using the Silk Road as their central theme. The six Legendary-tier skins draw inspiration from the cultural landscapes of the three Silk Roads: the Land Route, the Southwest Route, and the Maritime Route.

The narrative of "The Road God Guiding Children Home" in the CG animation closely intertwines the grand civilization of the Silk Road with the Chinese people’s most heartfelt longing to return home for the Spring Festival.

The authorities also brought cultural experiences to the physical world by organizing the Zigong Lantern Festival, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Lantern Festival, and the Chengdu Grand Temple Fair at Wuhou Temple, thereby creating a comprehensive online and offline experience of traditional New Year customs.

During the Spring Festival, as countless players took to social media to remark, “It’s crazy—yet somehow true—that the King’s Canyon is where the festive spirit is strongest,” a set of data confirmed this nationwide craze: During this year’s Spring Festival season, topics related to “Honor of Kings” racked up a total of 597 trending entries across all platforms. Of these, 440 appeared on the main trending lists, and as many as 152 made it into the top ten on various platforms’ main charts.

Behind the massive number of trending searches lies the fact that cultural heritage has evolved from a one-way dissemination by official channels into a collective consensus among users. "Honor of Kings" is no longer merely "creating cultural events"; rather, it is cultivating a long-term "cultural relationship" with players and traditional culture.

04

Breaking Out of the Canyon: The Ecological Transition from a Game to a "National-Level IP"

After a decade, the 5v5 arena that once existed only on mobile screens can no longer fully accommodate the ambitions of this IP. As the only domestically developed IP in the global Top 50 IP Value Rankings, Honor of Kings must take the next step in its evolution from a “product” to a “nationwide cultural platform.”

In terms of game genres, the open-world RPG *Honor of Kings: World* and *Honor of Kings: Chess*, which expands into the strategy genre, demonstrate the company’s ambition to pioneer new genres. Beyond spin-off games, the extension of its IP ecosystem into the physical retail sector is also worth noting.

Beyond the game, the IP continues to expand its reach: a family-friendly feature film produced in collaboration with Happy Mahua and featuring Shen Teng as guest creative supervisor is scheduled for release in 2028; the “Heart-Pounding King” emotional companionship campaign saw its debut PV shoot straight to the top of Xiaohongshu’s trending list; and the “Shining Plan” music sub-IP is exploring new ways to express the heroes of Honor of Kings.

Going a step further, "Honor of Kings" has moved beyond mere cultural preservation and ventured into the uncharted territory of connecting industries and empowering the real economy.Over the past decade, Honor of Kings has partnered with more than 100 outstanding domestic IPs in traditional culture, Chinese animation, and film and television. These collaborations have long transcended mere online tie-ins, extending into the real economy—by driving consumption of related merchandise, cultural tourism visits, and sales of derivative products, Honor of Kings is continuously expanding its industrial “circle of friends” and exploring how digital IPs can serve as a bridge to empower the real economy.

When an IP’s reach is broad enough, "Honor of Kings" is no longer just a "game," but a cultural hub that is deeply integrated into the lifestyles of young people.

Whether at the 10th-anniversary multi-city offline parties or various comic conventions, the *Honor of Kings* exhibition areas have consistently drawn massive crowds, with players showing undiminished enthusiasm for limited-edition hero merchandise. At the same time, spin-off sub-IPs have demonstrated significant potential to break into new audiences: the virtual boy band “Infinite Kings” and the emotional companionship project “Heart-Fluttering Kings” have sparked heated discussions both at offline meet-and-greets and on social media platforms.An increasing number of players are spontaneously taking on the roles of Honor of Kings heroes as cosplayers, breaking down the barriers between the virtual and real worlds through their passion.

Once the IP had taken deep root in China, Honor of Kings began promoting Chinese stories to the world through animated series. The animated series featuring Yi Xing has not only been recognized by top international production teams but has also sparked extensive research and discussion among overseas audiences regarding Chinese cultural elements;Li Bai’s animated series *The Shattered Moon* debuted on Crunchyroll, the world’s largest anime-focused streaming platform, reaching over 100 million viewers across five continents; meanwhile, *The Fate*, the animated series featuring Kai that launched globally in late May 2025, further solidified its status as a flagship example of Chinese game animation going global.

In addition, Honor of Kings is using AI to redefine micro-companionship.

"Lingbao," a pet-raising game launched in 2024, evolved into a true companion AI agent in 2025. Not only does it provide tactical tips during matches, but it also possesses exceptional emotional interaction skills—it gets memes, knows how to carry a conversation, and even occasionally teases players about their moves in a sassy, tongue-in-cheek way. On its first day of release, user engagement surpassed 10 million.

The most popular feature has to be the "Lingbao Diary" function, which launched last September: AI randomly records players' matches from that day and turns them into little comics. Whether it's a highlight-reel comeback or a memorable moment where you fed the enemy, Lingbao might turn it into a little comic with its own unique style.

This highly shareable interactive design sparked an explosive response on social media—with topic views across all platforms exceeding 60 million, more than 15 videos on Douyin racking up over 100,000 likes, and players spontaneously creating a flood of fan-made content: “"My Lingbao Diary is full of my own clumsy moves, and it even draws them out to mock me—it’s both infuriating and hilarious," and "This AI is addictive; it keeps provoking me, but I just can’t help interacting with it."

During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Horse, the six classic characters released through a collaboration between Lingbao and My Little Pony sparked a wave of enthusiasm among collectors and provided initial validation of this AI IP’s commercial potential. From expansive world-building to a “gaming buddy” that understands you—when GaaS (Game-as-a-Service) meets AI, the emotional connection between games and players is being redefined.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Honor of Kings has ventured into the field of AI. The game has already established a strong connection with AI through the development of its decision-making AI, “Juewu,” and the creation of its multi-agent open research platform, “Kaiwu.” Over the past few years, these technological advancements have gradually translated into an experience that every player can feel.

Conclusion: Becoming the Cycle Itself

Why, even today, do we still need to devote so much space to analyzing *Honor of Kings* from a perspective that goes beyond the short-term focus of financial reports?

In today’s gaming industry, it is no longer merely a metric under scrutiny, but rather the foundation against which the entire industry measures everything. DAU figures are benchmarked against it, peak revenue is gauged against it, and the length of a game’s lifecycle is measured by it. When people discuss whether a new game will succeed, they invariably find themselves asking, “Can it come close to *Honor of Kings*?”

Operational experience over the past year has shown that this framework has never ceased to reinvent itself.While the entire industry has been mired in widespread anxiety amid a zero-sum game, frantically chasing the next big hit every three or six months, *Honor of Kings* has spent a decade proving to the industry that a true national phenomenon is never built by merely riding the wave of a single cycle. Instead, it is about becoming a friend of time, transforming every iteration into a fresh start, and ultimately becoming the cycle itself.

When players tap that familiar icon once again, and as the entire industry searches for the answers to the next era, that crisp, confident, and ever-vibrant voice will still be there, just as promised:

“Welcome to Honor of Kings.”