According to Bloomberg, Tencent’s gaming studios Timi and Lightspeed are both building mobile games taking inspiration from the viral hit Palworld.
Palworld, an indie PC title released in January, has taken the gaming world by storm, becoming the world’s most downloaded new title upon its release.
This open-world, survival, and crafting game with the nurture of virtual pets, often described as “Pokémon with guns,” has captured the hearts of gamers worldwide, amassing a peak of over two million simultaneous players.
The game’s unique blend of genres and the ability to foster virtual companions has struck a chord with players, inspiring gaming giants like Tencent to take notice.
Tencent’s Quest for the Next Big Hit
Tencent Holdings Ltd, the world’s biggest games publisher, is in dire need of a mega-hit.
With a 2% decline in games revenue in the holiday quarter, the company is exploring new avenues to reignite growth.
To achieve this, Tencent’s two most accomplished creative studios, Timi and Lightspeed, are (separately) developing mobile games inspired by Palworld’s winning formula.
Tencent is adopting this approach to foster internal competition by incubating multiple, competing projects to breed the best results.
This strategy has proven successful in the past, with Timi’s Honor of Kings and Lightspeed’s Peacekeeper Elite emerging as China’s perennial bestsellers after fierce internal competition years ago.
What Can We Expect from Tencent’s Palworld-Inspired Games?
While details are scarce, according to Bloomberg, Tencent’s upcoming games will combine open-world, survival, and crafting elements with the nurture of virtual pets, akin to Palworld.
Lightspeed has even reallocated developers from its existing games to work on this new project, while Timi is actively hiring Unreal Engine programmers, 3D artists, and combat designers, touting a “fantasy adventure world with cute pets” in job postings.
The Pet Companion Craze Spreads
Tencent isn’t the only gaming giant capitalizing on the pet companion trend.
NetEase, one of Tencent’s biggest rivals, recently showcased a pet system for its upcoming survival game Seven Days World, featuring an alpaca sidekick with a bow tie and a gun, drawing comparisons to Palworld’s gameplay.
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