When MOBA games meet "A Tale of Two Cities"

Text | Xue Dexing

Editor | Liu Shiwu

In January 2025, "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang", a mobile MOBA game that had been popular in the overseas market for many years, was officially launched in the Chinese mainland with much fanfare. However, its performance in the first month fell short of market expectations.

According to Diandian Data, "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" had a good start after its launch and once reached the top of the free iOS game list. However, its subsequent performance declined significantly, with the cumulative revenue on the iOS platform only reaching 1 million yuan. Of course, the low revenue was also related to the generous official benefits offered at the beginning of the launch.

This result stands in sharp contrast to the success of the international version of MLBB. The overseas version launched by Moonton Technology in 2016 has covered more than 200 countries so far, with a monthly active user base of over 110 million. It was also selected as an e - sports event for the 2026 Asian Games due to its influence in the overseas market.

Image source: Internet

Why is there such a big difference between the international version and the Chinese mainland version? In a sense, they are indeed "two different games".

Compared with the Chinese mainland version, the international version of MLBB has been in operation for a longer time, with more than 100 heroes, covering historical and mythological characters from more countries. The Chinese mainland version is not aligned with the international version in terms of the game environment (heroes, maps, equipment strength, etc.) and game versions. In addition, compared with the auto - chess and brawl modes launched in the international version, the Chinese mainland version only retained the core MOBA gameplay at the beginning.

In the game industry, such version differences between domestic and overseas servers are not uncommon. However, in some cases, they can also be a reason for some players to quit.

So, was it a wrong choice for "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" to be launched in the Chinese mainland at this time and in this form? The answer is definitely no. The successful operation of MLBB overseas for many years is sufficient proof that it is an excellent product. What we want to discuss is: For games with increasing global attributes, how can they balance players' expectations in different local environments and versions? In the trend of information flowing freely while game servers are separated, this may no longer be a trivial matter.

Thoughts from the poor performance of MLBB in the Chinese mainland to the "two different dishes" for domestic and overseas markets

Interestingly, the promotional slogan for the launch of MLBB in the Chinese mainland was "Let the world see the strength of Chinese players". However, in fact, the data between the Chinese mainland version and the international version is not interconnected. Coupled with the differences in hero skins, tournament systems, and payment models between the two versions, players on both sides cannot "play together".

Image source: Internet

For online competitive games that attach great importance to tournament operations, the global consistency of game content and versions that affect the outcome of the game is obviously very important. Making players feel that "the Chinese mainland version and the overseas version are not the same game" is no longer a good choice. When players realize that the Chinese mainland version they are playing is not even that rich and colorful, doubts about the sincerity of the game manufacturer will arise.

Image source: Player comments

Meanwhile, the performance of MLBB in the Chinese mainland in the first month was not that surprising. The domestic mobile MOBA game market has long been recognized as a red - ocean market. "Honor of Kings", the dominant player, has built a moat with its social attributes and user stickiness, making it difficult to be shaken. The second - tier games such as League of Legends: Wild Rift and Onmyoji also have their own advantages. Occasionally, new mobile MOBA games appear, such as "Aurora Legends" last year, but they can only make a small splash.

The series of practices of MLBB in the Chinese mainland cannot be said to be wrong (after all, the international version of "Honor of Kings" is not very popular either). However, we found that among the current popular competitive games, there are fewer and fewer games with such a large difference between the Chinese mainland version and the international version.

From DOTA2 and LOL in the MOBA category, to CS2 and OW2 in other categories, and even "Marvel Snap", which has remained highly popular recently, these well - known competitive games may have slight regional differences (for example, the Chinese mainland version basically does not show red blood). However, in terms of the core content that affects the outcome of the game, such as maps, heroes, weapon statistics, and tactical skills, they try to be as consistent globally as possible.

As mentioned earlier, the differences between the international version of "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" and even the international version of "Honor of Kings" and their Chinese mainland versions are probably unimaginable for a LOL player. As a result, "Honor of Kings" needed to specially create a tournament version during the Asian Games to coordinate various matters such as hero appearances and map details. The players participating in the Asian Games also had to undergo special training to adapt to the gameplay and rhythm of this customized version.

Some original heroes in the international version of "Honor of Kings"

The internationalization strategies of mobile MOBA games represented by MLBB and "Honor of Kings" are more like "cooking two different dishes": one is specially for the domestic market, and the other is for the overseas market. It is not surprising that they have two or more teams for development and operation. In order to achieve better localization, creating some original heroes and gameplay for specific regions is completely acceptable.

Inequality between server versions may become a powder keg

Since the "local - adaptation" globalization strategy has been chosen, the risk of "unequal treatment" between the Chinese mainland version and the overseas version also follows.

Most of the time, players can understand the limitations of the Chinese mainland version in the game environment. However, it is not so easy for them to accept the differential treatment in terms of payment and operational benefits.

A classic incident was the "Bunny Girl" plot in Mihoyo's "Honkai Impact 3rd". At the end of March 2021, the international version of "Honkai Impact 3rd" launched an exclusive event plot to celebrate its third anniversary, which was only visible to international players. In the plot, the Valkyries were forced to perform a dance in bunny girl costumes in a bar due to debt problems.

When the plot from the international version spread to the Chinese mainland, players in the Chinese mainland version felt "differentially treated". In particular, the bunny girl performance of the Valkyries in the event was in sharp contrast to the "fighting girls" image that had been long - established in the Chinese mainland version. Phrases like "Your pure and noble Valkyries are secretly dancing in bunny girl costumes outside" constantly irritated the nerves of players in the Chinese mainland version. Coupled with the fact that the player benefits in the Chinese mainland version were far worse than those in the international version, there was a large amount of condemnation on social media and forums, as well as a lot of satirical fan - created content. This incident affected the reputation of the Chinese mainland version of "Honkai Impact 3rd" to a certain extent, and even four years later, players still used it as a meme, making it a real "black history".

Searching for the keyword "Bunny Girl" on Bilibili shows all related content

For game manufacturers, it is a normal business operation to give preferential treatment to overseas servers in order to expand new markets. However, with the acceleration of global information circulation in recent years, more and more players have noticed this kind of "tailoring to different customers" marketing phenomenon and hope that their gaming experience will be respected.

Image source: Internet

We can see that Mihoyo learned a lesson from this in "Genshin Impact". In terms of the plot, different characters and regions in the open - world game correspond to different global markets. Customized plots are created through regional events. In this way, the game can be updated globally in a unified manner, maintaining a consistent worldview, while also meeting cultural differences. The payment mechanism and benefits are also basically the same globally, without major complaints. As a result, videos of foreign players playing "Genshin Impact" can even boost the game's popularity in the Chinese mainland.

From local - market focus to global distribution

Marked by "Genshin Impact" around 2020, domestic games have truly started to take the path of "unified version, global distribution" when going overseas. They have begun to take both the domestic and overseas markets into account and view them as a single global market.

On September 28, 2020, "Genshin Impact" was simultaneously launched on the iOS, Android, PC, and PS4 platforms globally. The game supports four voice - overs in Chinese, Japanese, English, and Korean, as well as 13 game languages. It was positioned as a global - market game from the very beginning, rather than considering overseas distribution after achieving success in the domestic market. This was very rare in the game industry at that time.

After "Genshin Impact" triggered the "overseas - expansion fever", with the involvement of mainstream media and more in - depth business reports, people discovered more domestic game manufacturers that had been deeply involved in the overseas market, such as Lilith and Funplus. In the past decade, these companies have been fully focused on the overseas market and have achieved remarkable results.

These manufacturers can actually be regarded as the "old - generation" of "game overseas expansion". They are more focused on launching games in the overseas market and do not pay much attention to the domestic market.

Therefore, the special cases of MLBB and "Honor of Kings" are not difficult to understand. Both of these mobile games were launched about ten years ago. At that time, due to policy environment, capital, and distribution - ability limitations, Chinese manufacturers mainly considered how to serve a specific region well. For "Honor of Kings", the Chinese market with a population of 1.4 billion is huge. Tencent even launched several games with similar gameplay for "horse - racing" in the early stage. The same is true for MLBB. With a dominant competitor in the domestic market, it was not uncommon for it to strategically abandon the domestic market and focus on the overseas market (especially Southeast Asia).

In the era of global overseas expansion, some games that have achieved success in a single market also want to have a share in the global market. Thus, the international version of "Honor of Kings" (AOV) and the Chinese mainland version of MLBB ("Mobile Legends: Bang Bang") emerged. However, the inertia of games that were originally designed for a specific region in the previous era has become a drag. To meet the tastes of players in different markets, many changes are inevitably required, resulting in version differences and subsequent player disputes.

Of course, it is difficult to say whether it is better to create a globally - applicable game or a game specially tailored for a specific region. The former requires the ability to balance the tastes of players from different countries and adapt to the policy environment from the very beginning of the design, while the latter also has the cost of targeted development and the trouble of server - related disputes.

Perhaps from a profit - making perspective, covering as many people as possible with a single version, while reducing the number of segmented versions and conducting restrained localization, is the optimal solution.

We can observe that from "Genshin Impact", "Delta Force: Mobile", "Marvel Snap", to "Outriders" which was globally launched simultaneously, more domestic manufacturers with the conditions have chosen the path of global distribution with a unified version. The transformation of major online competitive games from "focusing on a single region" to "taking the global market as a whole" has become a trend.

Compared with before, more Chinese manufacturers believe that their works can find a major market under the global distribution model. For example, "Marvel Snap" was not well - received by players in the Chinese mainland at the beginning of its launch. However, it has won the love of players in the overseas market with its authentic superhero experience and good competitive gameplay.

Even now, there is still a significant difference in popularity between the Chinese mainland and overseas markets for "Marvel Snap". This may be the choice of the market.

Conclusion

In 2024, we watched the finals of the MCC S3 playoffs held in Kazakhstan and the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M6 World Championship held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the end of the year. Both events attracted a large number of fans from the local area and neighboring countries, and the on - site enthusiasm was no less than that of other top - tier global e - sports events.

Competition site (Photo by 36Kr Games)

There is no doubt about the appeal of MLBB overseas. However, for game distribution, the Chinese mainland is actually one of the most special markets.

In today's increasingly globalized game industry, how to balance unity and difference, the global and the local, has become a major issue that manufacturers cannot avoid. With the improvement of global information transparency, players' demand for a "fair gaming experience" has transcended geographical boundaries (especially for single - player games).

For online competitive games with global tournaments, local - style operations can be carried out, but a sense of belonging to global - competition in terms of game mechanisms and content is obviously very important. For mobile games with an entertainment orientation, perhaps creating a localized version is what players expect.

Manufacturers have to find the solution to this problem on their own.