[Overseas Stocks Spotlight] "Tencent, Attention Needed on Game Lineup Replacing DnF Mobile"

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] There is an analysis suggesting the need to pay attention to Tencent Holdings' game lineup that can replace 'Dungeon & Fighter (DnF) Mobile' in the fourth quarter of this year.

Seunghye Baek, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, stated in a report on the 4th, “DnF Mobile's release was postponed last August due to system improvements, and the release schedule is still uncertain,” adding, “Therefore, in the fourth quarter, it is necessary to focus on the lineup that can replace DnF Mobile.” Tencent's game pipeline, expected to launch within the next six months to a year, includes more than 16 mobile and PC games. Among them, a total of eight games, including 'Geumsapjeonjaeng' which received service approval on the 21st of last month, have obtained the government approval process called 'Panho (판호)' for service and monetization within China.

Among these, the highly anticipated titles expected to rank high in sales are the MMORPG mobile game 'Cheon-ae Myeong-woldo Mobile,' based on Tencent's blockbuster PC game intellectual property (IP), and 'Call of Duty Mobile,' developed in collaboration with Activision. As of the 28th of last month, the pre-registration numbers for 'Cheon-ae Myeong-woldo Mobile' and 'Call of Duty Mobile' reached 36.3 million and 46.28 million, respectively. 'Cheon-ae Myeong-woldo Mobile' is scheduled to be released this month, and it is expected to contribute to revenue from the fourth quarter results. Besides 'Cheon-ae Myeong-woldo,' Tencent is also highly likely to release a major game to replace DnF Mobile within the next six months.

The short-term impact on performance due to U.S. sanctions is limited, but uncertainty remains. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce's announcement on the 20th of last month, the scope of sanctions against Tencent was limited to 'WeChat,' sparing Tencent from the worst-case scenario. Researcher Baek said, “From the perspective of the gaming business, Tencent's overseas gaming operations are not based on the WeChat platform, and since the sanctions do not target Tencent's gaming business in the U.S., the short-term impact on performance will be limited.” She added, “During the enforcement of sanctions, there is a possibility that users and Tencent may attempt to block the measures, as WeChat users recently filed an injunction in a U.S. court to halt the service suspension.”

However, Baek pointed out that “regardless of the U.S. presidential election results, friction between the U.S. and China is likely to prolong, increasing uncertainty regarding Tencent's overseas gaming business expansion and the spread of sanctions.” She also noted that Tencent's stock price has continued to show a sluggish trend since the U.S. sanctions issue was mentioned in August. Nevertheless, Baek added, “With more than a month remaining until the Q3 earnings announcement in mid-November, it is expected that the stock price momentum will recover with the release of major mobile games in October.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.