Tencent's new blockbuster game exceeds US$270 million in 30 days

Tencent Holdings' Dungeon & Fighter Mobile more than doubled the sales of longstanding Chinese best-seller Honor of Kings in its first month, according to independent research, suggesting the online entertainment leader may have finally found a marquee franchise to replace aging titles.

The Nexon-produced title brought in US$270 million on iOS in the 30 days after its launch on May 21, taking the top spot in both downloads and revenue in the country, data released by industry tracker Sensor Tower on Mon (Jun 24) showed. The performance, which exceeded analyst expectations, marked the biggest debut of the year for Tencent and is widely seen as the best candidate to generate recurring revenue like Honor of Kings, long China’s most lucrative title.

Tencent hastened the release of DnF Mobile to May after positive feedback in testing, touting the game as a blockbuster that would rekindle growth in its key domestic games division. After Sensor Tower's report on Mon, Niko Partners analyst Xiaofeng Zeng revised up his estimate for DnF Mobile's 2024 gross revenue to between 15 billion yuan (S$2.8 billion) and 18 billion yuan. Even at roughly US$1 billion, DnF Mobile would contribute approximately 5% of Tencent's domestic game sales this year.