There is a game that has been the n.1 game for revenue for years now.
In 2025, it earned $1.7 billion, totalling an outstanding $13 billion from IAPs only since its release.
We’re talking about Honor of Kings, the MOBA game that has been dominating the charts for years.
In this game analysis, we’ll dive into its gameplay and monetization mechanics, to understand the reasons for its success.
Honor of Kings: Background
Developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Tencent, Honor of Kings is a Chinese mobile game released for the first time in 2015.
Initially, the game was available only in China, but in June 2024, an international version was released worldwide.
As of March 2026, the game has a total of 447.640.692 downloads and $13.992.398.284 of revenue from IAPs only.
Honor of Kings has been the n.1 game for revenue for 5 years in a row, and in 2025, it earned almost $1.7 billion from IAPs.
What’s interesting is that 98% of its revenue and 77% of its downloads come from China, so the game appeals mainly to its native audience.
Honor of Kings: Gameplay
Honor of Kings is a MOBA game. MOBA stands for multiplayer online battle arena, and it’s a category of midcore games in which players compete on a battlefield.
The main gameplay is a 5v5 MOBA, with ten players divided into two teams fighting against each other.
The goal of the game is to defeat your enemy by destroying their defensive structures – the so-called “turrets” – and then destroying their base crystal, at the heart of your enemy’s base.
To do this, you move your hero on a map, and each hero has specific features. For example, some can absorb damage, others provoke it, or others help team members heal.
You can choose among different types of heroes at the beginning of each match and, when you win, you can level them up with new skills or unlock new skins or characters.
PvP isn’t the only type of gameplay available. For example, there are:
- Ranked matches, which are more competitive and are available only for players who have reached level 6 and above.
- PvE matches, in which you play against AI. They are good for practice.
Some modes focus on faster battles, while others are special modes that change the rules or give players random heroes for variety.
Social Elements
One interesting element of Honor of Kings is its social features.
Many midcore games give players the possibility to interact and play with other players (see the Alliances in Last War Survival), but Honor of Kings takes a step further.
Players can categorize their game friends in different groups (for example, WeChat friends, Tencent friends, etc.) and then unlock different intimacy levels by playing together, sending gifts or completing tasks.
The higher this intimacy level becomes, the closer the relationship is, and it can evolve into different stages: acquaintances, friends, best friends, soulmates. Each level has its special rewards.
Moreover, the game also has chat features that encourage interaction. Besides the classical chat, you can send voice messages, reactions or directly ping your teammates during a match.
Honor of Kings: Monetization
Honork of Kings is a free-to-play game and, like other midcore games, it doesn’t rely on in-app advertising for its monetization but only on IAPs.
The game features three main types of in-game currency:
- Starstones: They can be earned by playing matches and completing missions. You can use it to buy new heroes or upgrades.
- Diamonds: It’s a free premium currency that you can obtain by completing daily achievements and missions. You can use it to buy special offer items.
- Tokens: This is a paid currency that you can obtain only by paying real money. You can use it for a variety of things, such as new heroes, skins and cosmetics, seasonal passes or event bundles.
The price of Tokens varies greatly, from $1 to $89.
Today, Honor of Kings has 3.2 million DAU and 7.7 million MAU, and the vast majority of its revenue comes from:
- Cosmetic skins and character outfits
- Tokens bundles
- Limited-time events for rare skins
One great example is the limited-edition skin of Zhao Yun, a general who lived from AD 220-280, which made the game earn $22 million in one day (China Daily).
Honor of Kings: User Acquisition
WeChat Integration
We’ve already mentioned that Honor of Kings is especially popular in China.
Tencent uses its massive ecosystem to pull in players. The game is integrated with social apps like WeChat, allowing users to log in easily, invite friends, and share gameplay moments.
These integrations boost organic installs and player engagement.
Collaborations
Secondly, the game often collaborates with influential people who act as ambassadors for it. Streamers, influencers and even popular singers and actors.
An example is JJ Lin, a Singaporean singer, who wrote a song for the game and was also the face of an ad campaign last year.
Limited Campaigns & New Skins
Though this may not seem like a direct UA strategy, Honor of Kings leverages this limited-time content for its ad campaigns.
This has two main benefits:
- It adds fresh content to the game.
- It works as a cross-promotion strategy. In fact, players who like a particular character or anime are more inclined to download the game if that character is featured in it.
These new releases work also from a monetization point of view, because players are willing to spend more to buy rare characters.
Conclusion
So, now that we’ve shed some light on the monetization and UA tactics of Honor of Kings, you see that they’re doing something quite simple:
- Keep users engaged with fresh content and new characters.
- Give them the chance to interact and play with other players.
- Leverage urgency and limited-time events.
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