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Activision has partnered with Tencent to develop a new Call of Duty mobile game for the Chinese market, the companies have announced.
The game, which is unrelated to last years’ announcement of King’s upcoming Call of Duty game, will be free-to-play and will feature Call of Duty characters, maps, modes and weapons pulled from across the franchise.
Leading Tencent mobile studio Timi will handle development of the title, which is expected to launch in China in the coming months.
Rob Kostich, Call of Duty EVP and GM, commented: “We’re working closely with one of Tencent’s top mobile studios, Timi, to develop a fun and original Call of Duty experience that delivers superb gameplay and mechanics to mobile players.”
Tencent SVP Steven Ma added: “Tencent is thrilled to bring the No.1 top-selling, console video game franchise globally eight of the last nine years to the millions of mobile game players in China. We are bringing together a vast array of characters, content and modes from across this great franchise into a new Call of Duty mobile game tailored to meet the interests and play styles of mobile players in China. We look forward to revealing the title soon and releasing the game in China in a few months.”
Activision’s eagerness to develop a mobile Call of Duty game for the Chinese market makes a lot of sense. China is the biggest games market, according to market intelligence company Newzoo, who state that China will account for one quarter of all global game revenues this year, reaching $37.9 billion (£29.1 billion). Mobile is also the dominant gaming force in China, and will generate 61 per cent of revenues in 2018, growing to 70 per cent of the market in 2021, according to Newzoo.
