Recently exposed is the new mobile game "Monster Hunter: Traveler", a collaboration between Tencent's Tianmei Studio and Capcom. This may be a key step for Tencent to break the "curse" of repeated setbacks in the Monster Hunter IP. Recently, news in the game industry has been coming, and several major manufacturers have invariably presented their own adjustments and layouts.
Implementation and expectations of cooperation projects
The "Monster Hunter: Traveler" that was exposed this time is very likely to correspond to the mobile game cooperation project officially announced by Tencent Tianmei and Capcom at the end of 2022. At that time, both parties announced in a very high-profile manner that they would jointly create a mobile game with the purpose of recreating the classic hunting experience of the series. This is of extraordinary significance to Tencent.
In the past few years, Tencent has failed to achieve expected results in the online games, stand-alone field, and even the movie adaptation of the Monster Hunter IP. Choosing to start from the mobile game field that it is extremely good at and with an extremely huge market, and deeply integrating it with Capcom, which has core development experience, is regarded as a rational strategic change. The industry hopes that this product can effectively integrate the strengths of both parties.
Project optimization during the industry adjustment period
On the same day, Shanghai Disruption Network was revealed to have carried out an organizational efficiency improvement operation against the "Girls' Frontline 2: Chase" project team. This operation involved the adjustment of some personnel. The game's results were significantly outstanding in the initial stage of public beta at the end of 2023. However, subsequent fluctuations caused by various public opinions caused the turnover to drop rapidly and significantly.
An official response stated that such a move was for the purpose of optimizing the structure, thereby improving project production capacity and operational efficiency. This reflects that in the current situation where market competition is intensifying and player requirements are gradually increasing, even if there has been a successful product, the project team must respond quickly and rely on internal adjustments to cope with the pressure brought by subsequent development. This has become a norm in the industry.
Major manufacturers seek breakthroughs and transformation
MiHoYo has recently released recruitment information in an unprecedented situation. This time it involves five new projects, covering realistic styles, online battles and other types. These types are significantly different from its traditional two-dimensional track. This situation is regarded as MiHoYo seeking a breakthrough.
Although MiHoYo has phenomenal products like "Genshin Impact", in the face of market changes and pressure on revenue, MiHoYo has taken the initiative to expand its product lines and explore new directions. This is a necessary move for large game companies to maintain their vitality. This attempt, which is not a traditional MiHoYo model, is precisely MiHoYo's positive layout to deal with future uncertainties.
Multi-platform layout and test verification
NetEase's "Seven Day World" announced that it will start technical testing of the mobile terminal on September 20. It is an open world game with supernatural elements. This test covers iOS and Android platforms, but the data will not be connected to the PC terminal.
The mobile version is still in the development and polishing stage, and the official has made it clear that the test content does not represent the final quality. NetEase is cautious about successfully porting PC games to mobile devices. This shows that collecting data and optimizing the experience through small-scale technical tests is a safe part of the multi-platform strategy.
The continued vitality of classic IP
Capcom announced that the cumulative sales of "Street Fighter 6" worldwide have exceeded 4 million copies. Since the end of June this year, after announcing sales of 3.7 million copies, another 300,000 copies were sold in about two months, which shows its strong continued sales capabilities.
The official has promised to release more content and hold events in the future in order to maintain the popularity of the game and the activity of the community. This can prove that even in the current situation where service-oriented games and free-to-play models are very popular, carefully crafted buyout fighting game IP can still obtain a stable market with solid quality and long-term operation.
Market concentration and category competition
Throughout the day, many industry trends appeared together, which revealed several key trends in the current game market: large enterprises rely on cooperation to make up for their own shortcomings, projects are quickly adjusted based on market feedback, industry giants actively explore new growth points, multi-platform distribution has become a standard configuration, and classic intellectual property rights rely on continuous operation to gain new vitality.
These actions all point to a more mature and fierce competition environment. Manufacturers must not only make good products, but also invest more energy in organizational efficiency, strategic layout, and long-term operations. For players, this means that there may be more diverse but also more quality-testing choices in the future.
At a time when major companies such as Tencent, miHoYo, and NetEase are making adjustments and launching new things, which company's next course of action do you think is most likely to successfully open up a new market situation? You are welcome to share your opinions in the comment area. If you think this article is informative, please also give a like to show your support.
