“Honor of Kings” is one of the biggest games in the world, but few people in the West have played it. That changes on June 20 as Level Infinite announced it’s bringing the mobile-focused multiplayer online battle arena to a wider global audience.
With 100 million daily players, it’s one of the biggest games in China, but for the global rollout, the publisher is adapting aspects of the game with skins and events tailored to each region. (Think of collaborations with SNK, Saint Seiya and Hello Kitty.) For fans of “League of Legends” or “Pokemon Unite,” the gameplay formula will be familiar. That’s because Level Infinite is owned by Tencent, which purchased “League of Legends” developer Riot Games. Meanwhile, “Hero of Kings” is made by TiMi Studio Group, which developed the “Pokemon Unite” MOBA.
That means “Heroes of Kings” follows a similar format. Players team up in 1v1, 3v3, or 5v5 matches and try to take down the enemy base by leveling up and overpowering their rivals in order to destroy the crystal in their bases.
To help the franchise find a broader audience, Level Infinite is offering free trials of all the heroes for a limited time. It’s also investing $15 million to establish an esports program. It’s also pushing a pre-registration process that includes in-game rewards such as a free hero called Ying and associated skins. The more people who sign up, the more rewards are unlocked such as resources used to unlock skins and upgrade heroes.
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At launch, players have the opportunity to explore a roster of 85 heroes with the goal of adding more than 100 in the future. They fall into five different character types: fighter, assassin, mage, marksman and support.
When it comes to the learning curve, the developers said they offer multiple ways to help beginners, which includes tutorial modules, hero suggestion tools and in-game video tips. On top of that, “Hero of Kings” has a Boot Camp and Solo Practice mode.
Because the title is made specifically for mobile, players will have to adjust to the touch-screen gameplay on iOS and Android devices. Other titles in the genre have proven that the interface shouldn’t be an obstacle to high-level play.
Right now, Level Infinite Games is accepting preregistration for “Hero of Kings,” and when the game is released, it will launch worldwide simultaneously, the developers said.
You can pre-register for the game here.
