Ubisoft boosts mobile presence in China with Ketchapp-Tencent deal
With 980 million monthly active users, social media app Weixin is the gateway to Chinese mobile market
Ubisoft and Tencent have today announced a strategic partnership in order to bring a number Ketchapp mobile games to Tencent's social media app Weixin Mini-Game.
With around 980 million monthly active user, Weixin is the most popular mobile app in China, and could be the perfect gateway for Ubisoft into the lucrative and difficult to permeate region.
The recently launched Weixin Mini-Game allows users to access a wide selection of games in Weixin without downloading additional applications, catering to China's complex censorship laws.
Ubisoft's presence in China is already solid, accounting for a 16% share of the publisher's mobile audience. The previous success of oddities like Hungry Shark, which has a 120 million unique users in the country, and China-first games like Assassin's Creed: Blood Sail, have prompted Ubisoft to ramp up mobile efforts in the region.
"We're excited that a selection of our successful and diverse portfolio of casual games, which already is supported by one of the largest mobile gaming communities, is now coming to Tencent's new application," said Antoine and Michel Morcos, co-founders of Ketchapp, Ubisoft Mobile.
"We have witnessed the massive success of Jump Jump and we are delighted by this collaboration between Ubisoft and Weixin, two of the most innovative and respected companies in their respective industries."
Head of gaming at Weixin, Xiaochao Zhang, added: "Working with Ubisoft on bringing a selection of the most popular Ketchapp games to Weixin marks a significant milestone for Weixin Mini-Games and a first step in bringing more IP and quality third party content to the platform."