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Is Alibaba’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition its first real entrance into mobile gaming?
- A recent game published by e-commerce giant Alibaba is rising up global rankings in terms of revenue
- Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma once said the company would not enter the gaming industry, but it has changed its tune in recent years
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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding may have struck gold with its strategy simulation game, Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition.
The game, created by its subsidiary Ejoy, pulled in a record revenue of US$85.4 million in May, bringing its lifetime revenue since it was launched in September to close to US$500 million, according to recent data released by app analytics firm Sensor Tower.
“Alibaba had largely been a silent player in the gaming business up until this point. But the continued success of this title has put Alibaba on the map for sure,” Liao Xuhua, gaming analyst at Beijing-based Analysys International, said.
While it is only available in China, Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition (whose official English name is yet to be determined) is now the sixth most profitable game worldwide, surpassing long-running hits such as Niantic’s Pokémon Go and Sony’s Fate/Grand Order, the Sensor Tower data from last month showed.
In its home country, the title trailed behind only Tencent Holdings’ two marquee titles, PUBG Mobile and Honour of Kings, in terms of revenue, according to the same data.
Alibaba, the parent company of the South China Morning Post, did not immediately respond to queries.
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