Tencent, the Chinese internet giant worth $309 billion, boasts a broad investment portfolio. It recently bought 5 percent of Tesla for $1.8 billion, and owns, among others, Clash of Clans publisher Supercell and League of Legends creator Riot Games. Now, Tencent is strengthening its connection with gamers by building an eSports-themed industrial park in the city of Wuhu.
Technode reports that the “eSports town” will encompass a theme park based on competitive online gaming, an eSports University, a cultural and creative park, animation industrial park, creative block, tech entrepreneurial community, and a Tencent data center. There are also plans for holding “e-sports tournaments with national influence in the town.”
Such a commitment to its gaming business isn’t that surprising, especially when you consider that Tencent’s online gaming revenue was up 25 percent in 2016 to around $10.28 billion, which represented almost half of its revenue for that year.
117 million people consider themselves eSports users in China, where the market segment is worth $5.8 billion. Wuhu isn’t the only place to get an eSports town; a similar industrial park in the Southwest of the country is getting a $580 million investment over the next three years.
As noted by PCGamer, Tencent recently rebranded its digital store to “WeGame,” which some thought was a sign of the platform gearing up for a global expansion to take on Steam. But with the domestic market continuing to prove so lucrative, it seems the company is happy to focus on China for the time being.
https://www.techspot.com/news/69334-tencent-announces-building-esports-town-china.html
