HONOR of Kings is already the most popular mobile MOBA game in the world, even before its global launch, which was yesterday, June 20th.
First released in China in 2015, the game quickly became the country’s biggest mobile MOBA, also becoming the most played 5v5 team battle mobile title in the world.
After a two-year delay and pre-releases in Brazil, Turkey and Middle Eastern countries, it is finally available to everyone with a phone across the world.
Just in time for the game’s global launch, we asked the development team questions about the new MOBA’s ambitions and what new characters to expect now that the game has a much wider audience.
How has Honor of Kings been altered to suit the tastes of Western players?
First, we undertake extensive localization efforts.
Localization involves more than mere translation; involves providing a comprehensive set of solutions based on the languages and customs of different regions.
Secondly, we introduce Heroes and skins created based on the characteristics of different cultures.
The new heroine Luara and Skin Mayene Capoeirista, inspired by Brazilian culture, are excellent examples.
Finally, we will design exclusive operational activities adapted to the festivals and cultural practices of different regions, ensuring that players from different areas can experience the sincerity of Honor of Kings.
What led you to bring Honor of Kings to the Western market, despite it being very saturated with MOBAs in general?
We feel there is a place for a MOBA that takes the essence of MOBAs on PC and offers strategic but fun team-based battles.
We’ve seen players in Brazil, Turkey and the MENA region, where Honor of Kings has already launched, embrace the game, and we hope the same applies to other markets.
What makes Honor of Kings stand out compared to other mobile MOBAs that are already available in the West, especially League of Legends: Wild Rift?
Honor of Kings is the original mobile MOBA and was built from the ground up for mobile devices, so from the beginning we wanted to create a game that takes full advantage of that platform.
You can see this in the interface, the short match length, and the small package size that allows players with lower-end devices to enjoy the game alongside those with newer devices.
And as devices become more powerful, we leverage their technical advancements to deliver an even better experience for our players, while ensuring the game remains scalable for those playing on older devices, and with unique hero designs and refined gaming operations. , we believe that Honor of Kings has a competitive advantage in the mobile MOBA market.
Initially, Honor of Kings was supposed to be released globally in late 2022. What caused the long delay and how did it help with the development of the Western version?
When we first launched Honor of Kings, the number of people playing games globally on mobile devices was much smaller.
The rise in popularity of mobile gaming is due, in part, to increased device performance and vastly improved networking capabilities, which have allowed developers to create deep, meaningful experiences with high production values that resonate with gamers.
We now feel like we’ve reached a point where the technology and accessibility of the phone as a gaming platform makes this the right time to share Honor of Kings with the world.
Why we want to release Honor of Kings globally – that’s very simple to answer.
We believe we have a great gaming experience that players, wherever they are, will enjoy and we want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to try the game, join the community, make new friends and try out competitive teams, but fair. battles.
Many of the characters in Honor of Kings are rooted in Chinese mythology and history. Will future updates bring more Western influences to the game’s content?
Yes, we will be adding more heroes influenced by Western culture, and as previously mentioned, we will see the introduction of a new hero – Luara – inspired by Latin American tradition and culture, joining the roster in the global launch.
We will continue to release more heroes or skins inspired by the histories and cultures of various regions around the world.
We will also look to celebrate key regional festivals with in-game content and events that resonate with our community.
An earlier branch of Honor of Kings developed for the global market already exists in the form of Arena of Valor. How do you plan to have two (or three, counting Wild Rift) closely related games thriving in the same competitive genre?
Both developed by TiMi Studios, Honor of Kings and Arena of Valor are two different mobile MOBA titles derived from one IP system.
They offer different gaming experiences, artistic styles and social interactions to meet the growing and diverse appetite of global gamers.
What lessons did the developers learn from the international release of Pokémon Unite for Honor of Kings?
We remain focused on what we learned from our community during the testing and soft launch phases, and this will continue after the global launch.
The issue of a mobile MOBA has sparked tensions between Tencent and Riot Games in the past – was the League of Legends and Wild Rift developer consulted on the global launch of Honor of Kings in any way to avoid conflict?
Sorry, but this is not an issue I have visibility into.
Honor of Kings was released on June 20, 2024, for iOS and Android devices and is free to play.
If you’re looking for more free games to play, check out a free update for Nintendo Switch fans.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
