While many gaming publishers and developers have been experiencing setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears as though this doesn’t necessarily apply across the board. In specific, Tencent, the umbrella company presiding over a number of popular gaming properties, happens to be doing quite well in spite of the unfortunate circumstances.
Tencent, which presides over companies like Riot Games, released its Q1 2020 earnings results, and it turns out that, despite the circumstances, the company is performing quite well. Senior Analyst for Thematic Research Rupantar Guha of GlobalData, a leading company that reviews data on a variety of subjects, offered some insight regarding the results and what it means for Tencent and the industry.
Guha reiterated that, amid the COVID-19 crisis, Tencent is experiencing apparent prosperity in its revenue growth for Q1 of 2020. Further, the company currently leads in the gaming market in terms of profits, as it outdoes 36 other gaming companies on GlobalData’s “gaming software thematic scorecard.”
Guha cites that, year-on-year, Q1 of 2020 saw a 64% increase in revenue, year-on-year.
Guha states that Tencent is only one among several companies that gets “a rating of 4 out of 5 for the coronavirus theme.” This means that Tencent is doing well considering the circumstances and is positioned well ahead of the end of the pandemic.
Tencent’s revenue is projected to grow more throughout 2020 with new titles yet to come. However, the rate of growth as it stands will likely decrease once the lockdowns are no longer in play, Guha mentions, as people will have “less free time for gaming.”
It is finally mentioned that one of Tencent’s main focuses going forward will be Riot Games, which is in control of properties like League of Legends and VALORANT. Primarily, the intent of this is to compete directly with Activision Blizzard, which now performs solidly with Call of Duty and Overwatch.
Overall, Tencent’s prosperity during this time period is quite notable. As much of their revenue likely comes from microtransactions, it would make sense that their revenue continues to grow, since lockdowns have enabled people to spend more time on gaming. It appears as though this should apply across the board though Tencent’s revenue from MMO’s has likely driven the company’s growth despite the public health concerns.
