Tencent Machine Rolls On With $20.6B Quarter

Tencent Holdings is strengthening its position as the world’s largest video game vendor. 

The Chinese conglomerate kept up its momentum in Q1, reporting $20.6 billion in revenue, a 25% increase year-over-year. 

Tencent’s strong quarter was driven by its mobile gaming business, which made up 32% of the company’s total revenue.

Mobile titles like “Honour of Kings,” “PUBG Mobile,” and “Peacekeeper Elite” helped the division pull in $6.4 billion in revenue.

The broader gaming division, which includes everything from mobile to PC, generated $11.2 billion in the quarter, a 17% increase from the same period a year prior.

This favorable Q1 report arrives amid antitrust concerns stemming from the company’s failure to report details of several investments and other anticompetitive practices.

Despite the threat of a hefty penalty from the Chinese government, Tencent continues to expand its offerings.

• March: Invested $2.2 billion in Rakuten, a Tokyo-based e-commerce company.
• April: Signed a three-year broadcast deal with Major League Baseball, bringing games to Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Tencent has broadcast MLB in China since 2018. 
• May: Signed a multiyear digital distribution extension with Sony Music Entertainment. Tencent will now share digital music rights in China with NetEase Cloud Music. 

Tencent, which is reportedly negotiating with a U.S. national security panel in order to keep its ownership stakes in Riot Games and Epic, reached $73.8 billion in revenue for FY2020.