China’s Tencent partners with Glu Mobile to bring popular WeFire mobile shooter game to international markets

China’s gaming giant is using its WeChat mobile messaging service to deliver more titles after inking another deal with Animoca in September on Armies of Dragons

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WeFire was the top-ranked shooter game in China in the first 10 months of 2015. Now Tencent plans to deliver it to gamers around the world via its WeChat mobile messaging platform. Photo: Handout

Published: 12:45pm, 6 Nov 2015Updated: 12:57pm, 6 Nov 2015

Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings is bringing its domestic chart-topping mobile game WeFire to markets around the world through a new partnership with US-based game developer Glu Mobile.

WeFire, Tencent’s first smartphone shooter game released through its WeChat social mobile messaging platform, was the No 1 game in this genre in China from January to October, according to digital business intelligence firm App Annie.

“Our collaboration will bring China’s chart-topping and top-grossing shooter WeFire to North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand in 2016,” Niccolo de Masi, the chairman and chief executive at Nasdaq-listed Glu, announced in San Francisco on Thursday.

The move comes after Tencent announced in September that it would distribute Hong Kong games developer Animoca Brands’ popular Armies of Dragons mobile game via WeChat in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Glu, a leading global developer and publisher of free-to-play games for smartphones and tablets, recently forecast its total revenue this year to be between US$234.3 million and US$236.3 million.

“Glu is a genre leader in mobile shooters in the West,” de Masi said.