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Tencent's 'Dungeon & Fighter' Game Dominates China's Mobile Download Charts

FILE PHOTO: The Tencent Games logo is seen on its game on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Tencent Games logo is seen on its game on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Illustration/File Photo
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Tencent's 'Dungeon & Fighter' Game Dominates China's Mobile Download Charts

FILE PHOTO: The Tencent Games logo is seen on its game on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Tencent Games logo is seen on its game on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Illustration/File Photo

Tencent Holdings Ltd's newly launched "Dungeon & Fighter" (DnF Mobile) has got off to a strong start, dominating top-grossing charts on Apple's iOS platform in China for nearly a month, industry data showed.
The game, launched in the world's biggest gaming market on May 21, broke the $100 million revenue mark in just 10 days, according to a report released by data analytics firm Sensor Tower this week.
It also topped the global mobile game revenue growth chart for May and ranked 8th in overall revenue.
In the first 10 days of its launch, DnF Mobile's revenue in China's iOS market surpassed the combined earnings of Tencent's other popular titles "Honor of Kings" and "PUBG Mobile," according to a separate Sensor Tower report dated June 17.
This surge contributed to a 12% growth in Tencent's mobile game revenue in May, according to Sensor Tower.
The DnF Mobile title, based on a popular PC franchise, had been available internationally for years. Its China launch was delayed due to Beijing's temporary freeze on new game approvals, Reuters reported.
DnF Mobile's early success comes amid ongoing tensions between Tencent and smartphone vendors over gaming revenue sharing.
Earlier this month, Tencent pulled the game from selected Android app stores, citing contract expiries.
Game developers in China have long had a contentious relationship with distributors over issues such as revenue sharing, as mobile games become increasingly popular in the broader game market. The standard 50% revenue split has often been a bone of contention.

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Australia Bans YouTube Accounts for Children Under 16 in Reversal of Previous Stance 

The YouTube app is displayed on an iPad in Baltimore. (AP)
The YouTube app is displayed on an iPad in Baltimore. (AP)
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Australia Bans YouTube Accounts for Children Under 16 in Reversal of Previous Stance 

The YouTube app is displayed on an iPad in Baltimore. (AP)
The YouTube app is displayed on an iPad in Baltimore. (AP)

The Australian government announced YouTube will be among the social media platforms that must ensure account holders are at least 16-years-old from December, reversing a position taken months ago on the popular video-sharing service.

YouTube was listed as an exemption in November last year when the Parliament passed world-first laws that will ban Australian children younger than 16 from platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and X.

Communications Minister Anika Wells released rules Wednesday that decide which online services are defined as “age-restricted social media platforms” and which avoid the age limit.

The age restrictions take effect Dec. 10 and platforms will face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for “failing to take responsible steps” to exclude underage account holders, a government statement said. The steps are not defined.

Wells defended applying the restrictions to YouTube and said the government would not be intimidated by threats of legal action from the platform’s US owner, Alphabet Inc.

“The evidence cannot be ignored that four out of 10 Australian kids report that their most recent harm was on YouTube,” Wells told reporters, referring to government research. “We will not be intimidated by legal threats when this is a genuine fight for the wellbeing of Australian kids.”

Children will be able to access YouTube but will not be allowed to have their own YouTube accounts.

YouTube said the government’s decision “reverses a clear, public commitment to exclude YouTube from this ban.”

“We share the government’s goal of addressing and reducing online harms. Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens. It’s not social media,” a YouTube statement said, noting it will consider next steps and engage with the government.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would campaign at a United Nations forum in New York in September for international support for banning children from social media.

“I know from the discussions I’ve had with other leaders that they are looking at this and they are considering what impact social media is having on young people in their respective nations,” Albanese said. “It is a common experience. This is not an Australian experience."

Last year, the government commissioned an evaluation of age assurance technologies that was to report last month on how young children could be excluded from social media.

The government had yet to receive that evaluation’s final recommendations, Wells said. But she added the platform users won’t have to upload documents such as passports and driver’s licenses to prove their age.

“Platforms have to provide an alternative to providing your own personal identification documents to satisfy themselves of age,” Wells said. “These platforms know with deadly accuracy who we are, what we do and when we do it. And they know that you’ve had a Facebook account since 2009, so they know that you are over 16."

Exempt services include online gaming, messaging, education and health apps. They are excluded because they are considered less harmful to children.

The minimum age is intended to address harmful impacts on children including addictive behaviors caused by persuasive or manipulative platform design features, social isolation, sleep interference, poor mental and physical health, low life-satisfaction and exposure to inappropriate and harmful content, government documents say.