Tencent's success in the gaming industry was driven by their platform, user base, and expertise in microtransactions.
Tencent diversified their business by adding a range of content and services to their platform and acquiring gaming studios.
Tencent's shift to mobile and focus on developing mobile apps and services led to explosive growth and transformed them into a mobile-first company.
Deep dives
Ten cent grows into a dominant gaming company
Ten cent, originally a messaging platform, quickly becomes the largest gaming company in the world by revenue. They leverage their platform and user base to add games to their portal and acquire gaming studios. Their expertise in microtransactions and virtual goods leads to tremendous success, generating hundreds of millions in revenue.
Ten cent expands into the portal market
Ten cent recognizes the potential of becoming a portal and adds a range of content and services to their platform. They acquire a stake in Riot Games, the maker of League of Legends, which becomes a global phenomenon. They also acquire Epic Games and diversify their business offerings.
Ten cent pioneers mobile messaging and social networking
Ten cent anticipates the rise of mobile and identifies the need to enter the mobile messaging market. They acquire a majority stake in Kik, a mobile messenger app, and become a dominant force in mobile messaging in China. They also expand into social networking with the launch of KuZone.
The pivotal move to mobile
Ten cent recognizes the shift to mobile and holds a strategy retreat where they decide to focus on mobile. They invest heavily in developing mobile apps and services, leading to the explosive growth of their mobile user base and transforming them into a mobile-first company.
Naspers' Investment in Tencent
Naspers' initial investment of $32 million in Tencent turned into a 5500x return, making it one of the best investments of all time.
President Barack Obama's Podcasting
President Obama's early podcasting endeavors showcased his innovative approach and paved the way for future political figures to engage with audiences through this medium.
We close out Season 3 and our China mini-series with a monster episode on Tencent, the Shenzhen-based social networking and entertainment powerhouse. We dive deep into the story of Pony Ma and his cofounders’ incredible journey from making software for pagers(!) to QQ, WeChat, League of Legends, Fortnite, Snapchat and even Tesla. This is one finale you don’t want to miss!
