Tencent and Riot games have signed an important agreement that will allow the first to exclusively develop a mobile phone version of League of Legends - a successful Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Video Games (MOBA) and one of the main games in the world of eSports. This agreement could guarantee the future of the game in the coming years and end hostilities between the two corporate entities.
The partnership has come in its perfect time as Riot Games is reportedly going through a severe internal crisis. The employees are fed up with the abusive practices of the company, which has been in the doldrums for several months after the decline of the quota and the presence of their successful video games. Tencent has been offering Riot Games the possibility of making League of Legends mobile version for years but had rejected it on three occasions. Now the development has commenced.
The League of Legends mobile version project which according to Reuters would be confidential, has been in development for more than a year and its progress would be very slow to make sure the fans would get what they hope for. It has no official title or confirmed mobile platforms - although it is expected to launch on iOS and Android - would use a similar game system and PC title characters.
Initially, the mobile version of League of Legends is ruled out to be launched in 2019, but it can be sooner. The launch is said to happen in a big event like the E3 2019, which is just around the corner - June 12, 2019. If not launched, it would not be surprising that Tencent and Riot game decided to make at least an announcement taking advantage of the moment.
League of Legends which presented more than 1400 million dollars in profit last year, looks like it is continuing its success but is on a free fall, with a decrease of 21% in revenues compared to 2017 and a much lower market share than a few years ago. The launch of a mobile version would revitalize the brand and provide a more significant presence in emerging markets, something the same company has achieved with PUBG Mobile, the battle royale that rivals Fortnite in countries such as India, Taiwan or China.
In addition, it would increase the number of competitions involving the game - which today has two major international tournaments: the Mid-Season Invitational and the Worlds. The momentum is down to the East in the competitive landscape. In the MSI 2019, held in Vietnam and closed last weekend, the decision brought together two Western teams for the first time and ended with the victory of the G2 Europeans over Team Liquid's Americans.
With League of Legends developing a mobile version and Call of Duty Mobile on the way as the next installment of Tencent, more and more of the big brands would be moving their eyes towards the fruitful mobile industry over the years. It’s an exciting time to be a gamer.
