Out With a Bang!

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), which launched in 2016, is a competitive free-to-play 5v5 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) for mobile developed and published by Chinese studio Moonton Games, now a subsidiary of ByteDance. The gameplay and presentation was heavily influenced by Riot Games` PC hit League of Legends (LoL), pitting two teams of five heroes in battles on a three-lane map to destroy the enemy base while defending their own. MLBB grew in popularity — particularly in the South East Asia (SEA) region — and by the end of 2022 had generated $851 million in revenue with 511 million downloads, according to data.ai, with the latter figure climbing to more than 1 billion downloads when accounting for third-party Chinese app stores not counted by data.ai.

The action MOBA genre has not traditionally resonated well in the West, with the first MOBA title to enter the U.S. 2022 top grossing charts at #123 being Mobile Legends with revenue of $28.7 million. The second is League of Legends: Wild Rift — at #242 with $11.3 million in revenue — which was built from the ground up for smartphones in 2021 and arrived 12 years after the original LoL`s PC release. Nevertheless, MLBB 2022 was the highest grossing game in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Meanwhile, China is dominated by another MOBA available only there: Tencent’s Honor of Kings, which grossed $6.51 billion from 307 million downloads.

Before we reveal the context of the evolution of the MOBA genre, let’s create a timeline of notable MOBA game releases.

Defense of the Ancients (DotA) was a popular mod released for Blizzard’s Warcraft III in 2003 that helped establish the MOBA genre and was the first of its kind to host competitive sponsored tournaments with increasingly large prize pools. One of DotA’s original developers moved to Riot Games in 2006, where he worked on the studio’s flagship title, League of Legends (LoL), helping to launch it in October 2009.

Meanwhile, Valve hired DotA’s lead designer to develop a proper sequel and franchise, starting with Dota 2, which was released on PC in July 2013. LoL and Dota 2 have remained the flagship MOBAs on PC for the past decade, and both have helped pioneer the concept of games as a service, innovative in terms of monetization and update frequency, although LoL has a larger audience than the other two.

In February 2011, Tencent acquired a majority stake in Riot Games (link), and then acquired the entire company in December of the same year (link). Tencent saw an opportunity for LoL on mobile considering Vainglory, launched in November 2014 by ex-Riot developers at Super Evil Megacorp, was the only notable MOBA title on smartphones at the time. Riot, at the time, declined to work on a mobile version of LoL as the platform didn`t seem suited to the title`s complex gameplay and competitive nature. Tencent was still determined to launch a mobile game and after a few internal studios competed to make one, TiMi Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent and the eventual creator of Call of Duty Mobile, developed and launched Honor of Kings (HoK) in China in November 2015.

In July 2016, Chinese developer Moonton launched its own mobile MOBA, Mobile Legends. Later that year, the studio relaunched the game under the title Mobile Legends: Bang Bang after Riot complained to Google about potential infringement of LoL IP and demanded the game be removed from the Play Store. In October 2016, Tencent released an international version of HoK outside of China, naming it Arena of Valor (AoV). Although Riot recognized the potential of LoL on mobile devices, the company did not plan to develop and release League of Legends: Wild Rift (LoL: WR) until March 2021.

League of Legends

Tencent`s release of HoK in 2015 as a cell tackle LoL brought on pressure on Riot`s dating with its figure employer (link), because the gameplay, heroes, and capabilities in HoK carefully reflected the ones of LoL. Given the recognition of LoL, which become additionally posted via way of means of Tencent, in China, HoK become a spoil hit and stays the No. 1 top-grossing name withinside the region. Further straining Riot`s dating with Tencent become the discharge of AoV, wherein Tencent used top notch LoL gamers to sell the brand new global model of the sport in esport tournaments.

It become all through this time that Moonton entered the marketplace with MLBB. Riot straight away took movement in opposition to Moonton over the sport`s likeness to LoL, contacting Google and traumatic the employer take away the sport from the Play Store (link). Moonton eliminated the sport earlier than Google may want to take any movement and relaunched it with the marginally altered name.

In 2017, Riot Games have become greater competitive in its pursuit of Moonton and filed a lawsuit in opposition to the studio (link), claiming MLBB infringed on its copyrights for containing “a full-size array of factors that had been at once and intentionally appropriated from LoL, which include however now no longer restrained to LoL`s characters, artwork, map designs, and unit and monster designs.” Riot`s lawsuit went directly to say, “And, to feature insult to injury, Moonton advertised and disbursed positive of its video games with a emblem this is confusingly much like Riot`s LoL emblem, the usage of the precise identical font and shadeation scheme as Riot`s LoL emblem.” The case become subsequently brushed off, with a U.S. courtroom docket choose figuring out that Tencent`s vital position withinside the case made it greater a count number for the Chinese courtroom docket system.

Overseas, Riot Games` figure employer Tencent released a separate lawsuit concentrated on Moonton Games` CEO and a former Tencent worker for violating non-compete agreements, and Tencent gained the case for a agreement of $2.nine million in 2018 (link). In March 2021, Moonton Games become received via way of means of ByteDance via its online game subsidiary Nuverse (the writer in the back of card battler hit Marvel Snap), for $four billion, outbidding Tencent withinside the process. In the identical year, with the discharge of LoL: WR, Riot and Moonton butted heads over again as MLBB-affiliated esport corporations had been reportedly compelled into exclusivity contracts barring them from competing in LoL: WR competitions (link).

Riot filed but some other lawsuit in May 2022 withinside the U.S., trying to preserve the case in California via way of means of accusing Moonton of plagiarism and “blatant copying” of LoL: WR, which we blanketed in our marketplace replace on the time (link). That fit become further brushed off ultimate November (link), with US District Judge Michael Fitzgerald issuing a ruling much like the 2017 case arguing the lawsuit become greater suitable for the Chinese courts.

In this teardown, we cover:

• An overview of the action MOBA market
• MLBB’s mobile-first gameplay
• Monetizing the gacha-based cosmetics economy
• The future of MLBB and industry insights

The MOBA Market

Among all MOBAs, Tencent’s China-exclusive HoK dominates the list with $6.51 billion in total revenue from 307 million downloads, with the important caveat that data.ai excludes third-party Android app store data from the Chinese market.

MLBB, released a year later, ranks second with $851 million in revenue and 511 million downloads, making it the most downloaded title. AoV comes in third with $566 million and 224 million downloads, which is less than half of MLBB’s install base. LoL: WR, which has been available for almost two years, comes in fourth with $514 million and fewer downloads at 95.4 million.

LoL: WR appears to be making roughly the same amount of revenue from fewer installs compared to AoV, while MLBB is bringing in more revenue across a larger install base. In 2022, LoL: WR’s revenue of $339 million put it in second place, beating MLBB’s revenue of $185 million. MLBB remains the most downloaded MOBA title with 62.5 million downloads.

A breakdown of total revenues by country shows that these games are reaching different audiences in different markets, with HoK accounting for 100% of downloads and spending in China. MLBB performed well in the Southeast Asian region, with Indonesia accounting for 35% of all downloads.

The data also shows that MLBB has global appeal outside of Asia, with the United States leading the way with $149 million (17.5%). AoV, the international version of HoK, continues to perform best in Asia, with Taiwan leading the way in downloads with $223 million (40%), followed by Vietnam (38%). LoL: WR was a success in China with 21.9 million downloads (23%) and $371 million in revenue (72%), followed by Brazil in downloads and the United States in revenue. All-time

MOBA downloads (broken down by game and region):

All-time MOBA revenues split by game and region:

The genre’s influence is clearly concentrated in China, with China accounting for 27% of MOBA downloads and 80% of MOBA revenue. MOBAs are the top genre for F2P PC games, and mobile MOBAs in particular have a strong audience in the East, a market where PC games are scarce due to high costs and local gaming cafes closed due to the pandemic, and monetization through gacha is possible. is more common.

Surprisingly, the mobile version of LoL and its release by Tencent have not had a negative impact on Moonton’s audience. The trendline of active players in MLBB remains on the same growth curve. LoL:WR made a big splash upon release, but Riot failed to expand its active player base. In terms of revenue, LoL:WR, as a more well-known brand, has made a lot of money since its release in China and the US, with a significant surge in revenue now stabilizing at over $10 million per month, surpassing MLBB. MLBB continues to demonstrate strong long-term earnings growth.

Overall, it’s unlikely that there will be much competition between MLBB and LoL:WR, as they primarily compete in different regions: SEA is the dominant player in MLBB, where mobile MOBAs are the norm, and China and the US are strong players in LoL:WR. The US in particular has a notoriously poor mobile MOBA market due to the high interest in the genre on PC.

 

MLBB’s go-to-market strategy was to translate complex PC games like LoL to mobile for large underserved audiences, including emerging markets in Brazil and Southeast Asian countries. Currently, the game supports devices running Android 4.2 and above, a version of the operating system introduced in July 2012, which allows the game to be played on most low-end smartphones. These low specification requirements allowed MLBB to ensure accessibility from the start, as LoL, while popular, is generally limited to PCs, which are expensive and require a variety of peripherals, especially in markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines. Since 2020, MLBB has gained popularity as an alternative to playing PC MOBAs, as the COVID-19 pandemic has closed “comp shops” and internet cafes popular with LoL players.

MLBB is also optimized for speed, with matchmaking in under 30 seconds and individual assets automatically downloaded on Android devices, minimizing load times and supporting the wide range of mobile phones mentioned above. To support the mobile environment of real-time action games, the game features an offline AI-assisted system that steps in if connectivity is lost, avoiding unsatisfying 4v5 situations. MLBB also features a brighter color palette with more stylized graphics that appeal to a wider audience, something LoL: WR also adopted when it brought the flagship MOBA to mobile a few years later.

Moonton has further followed the LoL playbook by entering the professional esports scene, hosting the Southeast Asia Cup with the top teams from Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore every year since 2017. This has further increased the popularity of MLBB, allowing SEA audiences to root for the local talent of many of their favorite teams and players. Meanwhile, LoL has traditionally sent the top teams from the US or Korea to the race. In 2019, Moonton launched its annual world championship, the M World Tournament. The most recent M4 World Championship was broadcast from Indonesia and was watched by 4.36 million concurrent viewers, making it the third most-watched esports event of all time (link).

MLBB’s explosive popularity in Southeast Asia has seen it gain popularity in countries such as Lapu-Lapu (Philippines), Minsittar (Myanmar), Kadita (Indonesia), Badang (Malaysia), and Gattokkacha (India), although the game has been banned in India since June 2020 (link). Filipino professional boxer Manny Pacquiao became the brand ambassador for the game, and Moonton even created a character in his likeness named Paquito.

This grassroots pioneering base in Southeast Asia is a part of history. What makes MLBB even more distinct and paves the way for success is its gameplay. MOBAs have always been F2P since the beginning, and many of the most successful ones were also early pioneers of monetization and games-as-a-service design. Let’s take a closer look at MLBB, starting with the classic gameplay of action MOBA games and explaining Moonton’s unique approach.

Skill Leads to Victory

In MLBB, as in virtually all MOBAs, each player controls a hero in a 5-by-5 ​​team game on a map called “The Sanctum,” which features three alleys connecting the two team bases with a vast jungle and a vertical river in between. The main goal is to break through the enemy towers and destroy the enemy base. He is aided by minions that appear and move in every town.

As the heroes fight each other and against AI-controlled minions and creeps (neutral monsters found in the jungle), their powers grow and they unlock gold with which they can buy new abilities and improved equipment. Winning or losing the game affects the player’s ranking, and since it is a competitive game, the player’s goal is to climb the leaderboard and reach the highest rank of Mythic.

The game offers multiple vectors of progress beyond the usual skill progression (or, as some players say, the mission to “get better”). As rewards, players receive multiple currencies and mission progress that can be used to enhance their collection of heroes and cosmetics. MLBB currently has over 118 heroes, each with five or more skins and several other cosmetics such as combat effects, emotes, colors, and avatar borders.

With strong live operations that introduce new heroes and skins, as well as limited-time events tied to exclusive cosmetics and a rotating virtual shop, the game does a great job of keeping players interested and making 10-minute game matches dynamic and challenging. .

There are six main classes of heroes:

• Tanks are the most resilient heroes with high health, armor and magic resistance, and usually lead the attack on the front line. They have low attack power and usually act as a shield for stronger but more vulnerable heroes. Her abilities are good for crowd control with effects like stun, slow and taunt.
• Assassins are agile heroes with low health but high burst damage, and are used as opportunistic hunters, scanning the map for unsuspecting targets. Her abilities help her track down enemies, deal quick damage and escape crowded situations.
• Fighter is a mix of Tank and Assassin, combining offensive and defensive power, making them a versatile role in the team.
• Marksmen is a ranged hero, whose role is commonly referred to as Carry, operating safely at long range and dealing large damage continuously with a high basic attack.
• Mage deals magic damage from afar using area of ​​effect (or AOE) abilities, helping with crowd control. Their low defense and high damage output make them the main target in team fights.
• Support role is based around protecting and healing other team members on the battlefield.

Map lanes are initially asymmetrical and have special conditions depending on the type of minion wave moving on them. Gold lane minions drop extra gold, XP lane minions drop extra XP, and the middle lane has small minions that are easier to deal with. After the first 5 minutes, all tracks return to the same minion wave. The jungle areas between the tracks are full of creeps with various buffs.

Each of the above classes has its own affinity for choosing lanes. Snipers rely on equipment purchased with gold to do good damage and aim for the gold lane, while mages prefer the middle lane with its hordes of weak minions to kill. Usually, fighters choose the XP track for one-on-one fights, while assassins go into the jungle with spells that allow them to earn more gold and XP by killing creeps. Tank and support heroes move between lanes, adapting to unexpected situations to best serve them.

Team play is most effective with a balanced team with a variety of roles, and heroes have a mix of classes, such as Nana (Mage/Support), Tigreal (Tank/Support), Jilong (Fighter/Assassin), and Kimmy (Sniper/Magician) – to increase the variety of strategies possible in team compositions. As battlefield heroes level up by defeating rival heroes, minions, and neutral creeps, their powers increase. Each time you level up, you can increase one level of a skill, which usually increases damage or reduces the cooldown of a skill. Gold is used to purchase items for the hero, starting with level 1 items that are materials to obtain more powerful items, then level 2 items, and so on, with each item improving the hero’s attributes as the game progresses.

When heroes are killed, they are sent back to base to respawn, but the respawn time increases as the game progresses. Killing enemy heroes is the best way for your team to advance in battle. While giving your heroes experience and gold to make them stronger, you can now prevent enemy heroes from doing the same after being sent back to base to respawn. Repeated deaths can trigger a snowball effect, making enemy heroes stronger with each death and making respawning heroes easier to kill. Destroying enemy towers gives gold to the whole team and reduces the enemy’s safe area.

A neutral creep named Lord (a blatant copy of other MOBAs like Baron from LoL) appears in the river area that splits the map down the middle at 8 minutes into the game. Killing the Lord gives gold and experience, and the Lord appears with the next wave of minions for the team that killed him, helping them raid the opponent’s weakest lane with the fewest towers. After death, he respawns in the river area 2 minutes later. The Lord also gets stronger as the game progresses, evolving into a stronger version at 12 and 18 minutes. The Turtle is another neutral creep that appears in the river area, appearing at 2 minutes into the game. Killing the Turtle gives your team gold and a shield buff.

As the game progresses, the game’s various systems create positive feedback loops that push the boat to the finish. Here is a timeline of some of these events:

There is also diminishing returns to completing the same objective repeatedly. For example, killing an enemy hero awards gold, but the rewards diminish as the player kills the same hero over and over until they defeat him themselves. Similarly, killing a dominant hero on a killstreak awards bonus gold, encouraging players to play more dynamically over time.

MLBB’s Mobile-First Approach to MOBA Gameplay

What sets MLBB apart from other MOBAs is its ability to translate the hardcore PC gaming genre into a more casual, mobile setting. First, it optimizes game length to around 10 minutes, nearly half the average length of other mobile MOBAs such as HoK and LoL. The shorter duration allows for accelerated power progression, resulting in a more accessible experience while still maintaining plenty of strategic depth. Most importantly, MLBB’s MOBA gameplay is short in duration, making it ideal for playing on the go.

This is reflected in MLBB’s average session length of 13:39 minutes, which is plenty of time to play a satisfying, strategic MOBA match, allowing players to feel like it’s a bite-sized experience they can enjoy again and again on their mobile phones. Yet another day. In comparison, LoL: WR matches last longer, with an average session length of 16:15 minutes. MLBB’s duration makes for a highly repeatable experience, as MLBB’s average sessions per user is 90.93 sessions/match per month. This is well above LoL:WR’s monthly average of 39.36 sessions per user. MLBB is also a leader in user engagement, a key metric for ensuring player retention and development.

Now let’s look at a system outside of the 10-minute game.

The Meta

In addition to the heroes’ progression on the in-game battlefield, there is a progression system in the so-called preparation phase outside the game. Emblems give bonuses to the heroes’ attributes and unlock unique talents with specific effects as they level up, giving older players a slight advantage over newer players. To upgrade emblems, resources are needed: Emblem Fragments, Magic Dust, and BP (Battle Points, coins in MLBB). These can be earned by playing matches and completing quests.

There are 9 types to choose from, 2 of which are given from the start, and the rest are unlocked when the player account reaches level 10. Once unlocked, they can be upgraded in any order, depending on the role the player wants to master. Currently, each emblem can be upgraded up to level 60, but there is diminishing returns beyond level 45, so players are encouraged to first upgrade everyone to level 45 before progressing to 60. Crest fragments for enhancement are primarily obtained through gacha machines, which consume BP.

Combat spells are additional skills available in the game, and players can choose one from all unlocked skills to bring into battle. Players unlock combat spells as their account levels up, with the final unlock being at account level 23. Players can also purchase instant access to them using diamonds, the game’s premium currency. Spells range from offensive spells such as Inspire, which increases the damage of basic attacks, to defensive spells such as Aegis, which grants a shield, to support spells such as Sprint, which grants a short movement speed bonus. Combat skills can be selected in the pre-match lobby but cannot be changed once the match has started.

Item builds help players plan their desired gear build path before the match and make it easier to purchase with gold in the heat of battle. Each hero can equip up to six pieces of equipment that can improve their attributes or give them some unique abilities. To get through the battle, it is important to build items to counter the lineup of the opposing team, such as: B. Magic shield equipment when facing an enemy team with multiple mages. Information about every player’s item structure is available at any time during the game and is used to counter and further develop strategies.

The game offers a few game modes to choose from:

• Classic: Casual 5v5 MOBA gameplay with no ranked competition.
• Ranked: Similar to Classic, but with ranked competition.
• Brawl: Simplified arcade-style 5v5 matches on a single track.
• Vs A.I.: Similar to Classic, but against an AI.
• Custom: Same as Against AI, but with the option to play with 1-5 fewer players.
• Training Camp: Tutorials and practice rounds.
• Arcade: Special event modes and a permanent auto-chess mode called Magic Chess.

The core competitive experience is in the ranked mode, where the majority of the game is played. Once the player understands the MOBA gameplay in the tutorial matches, the game introduces the player to the first part of the meta: unlocking more heroes.

Heroes For Hire

To use a hero in a match, players must first purchase the hero with BP, Diamonds, or Tickets. Heroes can also be obtained from certain events, such as First Time Purchases. Freya is the only hero that cannot be milled in the game and can only be purchased with Diamonds. A weekly rotation of five heroes is available to all players and can be used in all modes except Ranked mode. Trial Cards are another way to play locked heroes for a limited time, but again in Ranked mode. MLBB releases new heroes every 1-2 months and frequently rebalances heroes to keep pick rates fresh and changing the meta.

These systems are very similar to those in Tencent’s HoK and LoL: WR, based on unlocking through grinding or buying with real money for instant access, with a rotation of test heroes to give players a taste of the large roster at their disposal. . HoK and MLBB lean a bit more towards paid access by locking heroes through real money purchases, while LoL: WR eschews it in favor of a pay-to-win mechanic. Acquiring and playing with handpicked heroes gives players access to hero skins, the most popular cosmetics in the game.

Skin in the Game

Hero skins are cosmetics for characters with unique 3D models and splash art, and in some cases, can add transformation particle effects, animations, voices, and sound effects to the skins. Skins range in quality from high to low, from basic skins to special, epic, and legendary skins. Skins can be purchased directly using diamonds worth 269 to 1,089 diamonds at prices ranging from $4.99 to $19.99, or won in limited-time events. Meanwhile, the most popular legendary skins can be found in the game’s various gacha shops, where they can be obtained for hundreds of dollars.

Low-quality skins can be upgraded to high-quality skins using the skin upgrade feature with diamonds, but the low-quality skins are destroyed in the process. Painted skins are a palette replacement for existing skins. The game encourages players to unlock or purchase skins for the heroes they play by granting small stat boosts for any use outside of the base skin, such as a +8 stat boost to physical/magic attacks.

Skin collection and its reliance on gacha monetization is common in HoK, as well as other top-grossing games in the East. Skin monetization was slowly introduced to LoL: WR in late 2022 in the form of hextech chests similar to the PC version (link), but MLBB and HoK have already introduced dozens of different gacha machines in their games. LoL: WR has refrained from improving skins other than visuals to avoid P2W characters again. The typical cost of buying a skin directly ranges between $4.99 and $19.99. With gacha monetization, the majority of spending goes towards acquiring and collecting the rarest skins that are unlikely to drop in a random draw.

The Magic Wheel is one of the many gacha shops in the game where legendary skins can be obtained. The available loot table is as follows:

Every spin awards the player with magic points, and a pity system awards a magic crystal worth 200 magic points. If the player receives magic crystals beforehand, the magic points are reset. Five spins cost just over $5, so legendary skins can cost up to $200. These skins are very detailed, as can be seen in Moonton’s advertisement for the “King of Hell” skin (link) for hero Franco (link).

Event Gacha runs for a limited time and offers the rarest skins. It also offers collaborations like the current King of Fighters (KOF) skins. It costs just under 49.99 euros for 10 draws and includes the following loot table:

You get one epic for every 10 draws. Skins are guaranteed. The 3×3 Bingo card also lights up for every 10 draws, and completing a row, column, or diagonal will earn you a KOF skin, bringing the price of a KOF skin up to $350. Duplicate skins are converted into fragments, allowing you to collect a total of six unique KOF skins. It costs around $2,100.

MLBB has a number of gacha machines similar in design to the ones mentioned above:

• Zodiac Summon Gacha, which gives you a Zodiac skin every 100 moves ($40).
• Aurora Summon Gacha, which gives you an Epic Venom skin every 90 turns ($80).
• New Arrival Gacha, which gives you a 0.5% chance of getting the latest skin or hero, but costs $2 for 10 moves
• Lucky Spin Gacha, which gives you special skins in exchange for Lucky Gem Fragments, dropping one for 200 tickets (another item that can be earned primarily through subscriptions) about every 10 turns.

Gacha is the heart of the hero skin collecting feature with various rotating drop pools and limited-time banners, making it extremely difficult (and expensive) for players to obtain the rarest ones, thus increasing engagement and therefore spending, so players can make the most of their gains over the life of the game. While sometimes the draws may not feel rewarding, MLBB works well with its sympathy system, masking bad luck with more random rewards, such as rewarding players with tokens that can be used to fill out bingo cards or in other gacha machines.

The driving force behind these cosmetics is the competitive nature of the game. Players compare their collections to those of their teammates and opponents during matches, expressing their individuality and deriving deeper satisfaction from minute-by-minute gameplay.

Gacha Game Monetization

Diamonds are the most expensive in-app purchase in MLBB, and can be used for 5-10 moves in the game’s various gacha machines. Special Elite and Epic bundles are limited to one purchase per week or month and offer significant discounts on diamonds and tokens for gacha machines. Diamonds for Season Pass and Season Pass Plus cost $9.99 and $19.99 respectively, making them among the most expensive in-app purchases (IAP) for diamonds. Diamonds for buying skins directly in the store also range from $4.99 to $19.99. The Season Pass, called

Starlight, comes with perks such as collecting bonus XP and match BP upon purchase, as well as the ability to choose one of five unique Starlight skins. Rewards are unlocked by completing Season Pass tasks, with separate tracks for free and premium players. There is also a seasonal shop for cosmetics that can be purchased with Starlight Magic Fragments, a seasonal currency only available in the premium track. MLBB’s Season Pass is charged with Diamonds, rather than purchased directly with IAP. Diamonds are a tightly controlled, payment-only currency. As advertised, the Season Pass is a great deal, as you instantly get 2,800 Diamonds worth of rewards upon purchase. The Season Pass Plus gives you 6,000 Diamonds worth of rewards upon purchase. The $9.99 purchase of Diamonds puts it at the top of the IAP charts, with $19.99 coming in at number four.

The game also offers weekly and monthly auto-renewing subscriptions that grant tickets upon purchase, as well as daily login tickets that can be missed if you skip a day. While the subscription is active, players also receive bonus XP and BP per game, and can have both plans active at the same time for a cumulative advantage.

Ticket subscriptions also act as a booking mechanism, informing players when their next daily login reward is ready to be received. They also act as an engagement mechanism to maximize bonuses by playing as many games as possible during the subscription period. These do not appear at the top IAPs, so they only appeal to the most dedicated audience who play the game as a daily hobby.

(Mobile) Legends Are Forever

MLBB has come a long way since its inception (link). Game improvements aim to optimize for smoother gameplay, including automatic deployment of optimal game assets for each mobile device (link), automatic detection of cheating in matchmaking, and score rankings. Moonton also launched Project Next (link), a three-year project that began in September 2021 to improve legacy heroes that are often overlooked in the meta by rebalancing and improving their models, animations, and in-game effects.

Because competitive gaming is a toxic environment in-game, Moonton has also frequently addressed the long-term health of the player community by adding better AFK detection and penalties, as well as adding post-game likes and praise to encourage rewards for good behavior.

The Chinese developer is known for the speed and quality of its updates. The best evidence of this is that Moonton added an Auto Chess mode with its own economy of commanders, commander skins, and other cosmetics six months after Riot released Auto Chess for LoL in 2019. Riot then released Teamfight Tactics ( link ), a standalone Auto Chess game for mobile and PC, in 2020 as the company’s first mobile game. Tencent’s successor to HoK Auto Chess was announced last year as a standalone game named King’s Chess (link) and is still awaiting release. MLBB has taken a different approach, keeping the Auto Chess mode as a permanent in-game side activity with expanded progression and reward pools.

Moonton has changed and revised almost every similarity MLBB has to LoL as part of its legal challenge. At the same time, the developer has maintained a healthy rhythm of releasing new content such as heroes, collaborations, and mini-game events. Every month, MLBB adds new heroes, a new season pass with seasonal skins, new collaboration events with additional skins, additional content for the Arcade mode, and an overhaul of Live Heroes. These Live Ops have been arriving on time like clockwork, with the longest gap between hero releases being just 98 days between Fredrinn (August 12, 2022) and Joy (November 18, 2022).

Since its release, MLBB has grown its active user base and brought in corresponding revenue, and a key insight into the industry is summed up in its name. Mobile Legends replicates the success of LoL with a game developed for mobile devices, essentially serving a more casual and broader audience. Moonton’s focus on low-end devices and its go-to-market strategy has given it a strong position with a significant underserved player base in a fast-growing emerging market. As Moonton has shown, it can also expand this audience over time.

In 2014, five years after the release of LoL, Riot hired Graham McNeill, author of Warhammer, to redesign the game’s fiction. The Field of Justice map was replaced with a new narrative setting on the planet Runeterra. Although this work is rarely seen in gameplay, it laid the foundation for the expansion of the franchise into other media such as comics, anime series, and spin-off games.

Moonton followed this up with a spin-off mobile game, Mobile Legends: Adventure, which grossed $51.9 million and was the fourth highest-grossing game of 2022, and an animated series titled Legends of Dawn, which debuted in MLBB’s fictional land. The show premiered on Tencent’s streaming platform and on television in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

While much of MLBB’s success can be attributed to Riot’s LoL, Moonton’s approach to borrowing and copying from its competitors is best summed up in a Chinese proverb that states “stealing a book is an elegant crime.” It is the world’s most successful mobile MOBA and boasts the largest active player base simply because it can move faster and more efficiently than its competitors.

Tencent has been working on launching HoK globally this year, including starting a closed beta in Brazil (link), and expanding its property with an open-world spinoff called HoK: World (link). Tencent could use Riot’s knowledge of expanding LoL into other media formats to gain a stronger foothold and expand the HoK brand with a similar strategy (link).

But with audiences already hooked on MLBB, LoL:WR and AoV, Tencent has struggled to expand HoK outside of China. MLBB continues to have a strong live operation and deep gacha-based collectible economy, and is undeterred by Tencent’s forays into the market, including not only LoL:WR but also Pokémon Unite, so the company is likely to remain one of the leading players in the action MOBA genre.