Tencent, the world’s largest video games company by revenue, is to increase its investment in esports tournaments in China, aided by subsidies from local governments that are promoting the fast-growing sector.
Tencent already backs two of the world’s most-watched esports tournaments, in which players compete in international championships for its mobile title Honour of Kings and PC game League of Legends. The tournaments can attract 80m online viewers per match.
“We will organise more esports events this year, because many local governments want to increase their investment,” said Hou Miao, Tencent’s esports division manager. “The scale of our events will be larger.”