Tencent announced it is producing a live-action TV series around its mobile multiplayer online battle arena game, Honor of Kings, according to Graham Ashton of THE ESPORTS OBSERVER. The scripted show will reportedly be "centered around the game's esports scene, following a Chinese teenager on his path to become a professional player as he attempts to walk the footsteps of an older brother whose gaming career ended in tragedy." The TV series, which currently has no release date, will be an adaptation of a serial story published by a "famed online novelist in China." It is not the first time HoK has been the focus of a TV series -- "Kings Attack" is a game show broadcast through Tencent's video-streaming service, Tencent Video, that "essentially recreates the MOBA on a film set, with famous actors and other celebrities" (THE ESPORTS OBSERVER, 4/25).
MAGIC LAUNCH: THE ESPORTS OBSERVER's Ferguson Mitchell reported board and card game developer Wizards of the Coast is partnering with Tencent "to handle the Asia launch" of the upcoming "Magic: The Gathering Arena" video game, among others. Tencent will be the game's exclusive digital publisher in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Arena is Wizards' "latest take on developing a digital version" of its popular, 20-year-old card game (THE ESPORTS OBSERVER, 4/26).
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