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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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US-China Tech War Seen Heating up Regardless of whether Trump or Harris Wins

US and Chinese flags are seen through broken glass in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
US and Chinese flags are seen through broken glass in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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US-China Tech War Seen Heating up Regardless of whether Trump or Harris Wins

US and Chinese flags are seen through broken glass in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
US and Chinese flags are seen through broken glass in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

The US-China tech war is all but certain to heat up no matter whether Republican Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris wins the Nov. 5 US presidential election, with the Democrat likely to come out with targeted new rules and Trump a blunter approach.

New efforts to slow the flow of less-sophisticated Chinese chips, smart cars and other imports into the US are expected, alongside more curbs on chipmaking tools and highly-prized AI chips headed to China, according to former officials from the Biden and Trump administrations, industry experts and people close to the campaigns, according to Reuters.

In her bid for the US presidency, Democrat Harris has said she will make sure "America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century," while Republican candidate Trump has pitched ever-increasing tariffs as a cure-all that includes combating Chinese technological advancement.

In short, the battle to keep US money and technology from boosting China's military and artificial intelligence capabilities is bound to escalate under either Harris or Trump.

"We're seeing the opening of a new front on the US China tech cold war that is focused on data, software and connected devices," said Peter Harrell, a former national security official in the Biden administration.

Last month, the US proposed rules to keep connected cars made with Chinese components off America's streets, while a law was passed this spring that said the short video app TikTok must be sold by its Chinese parent by next year or be banned.

“There’s a lot of concern if a Chinese company is able to access and provide updates to devices,” Harrell said. “The connected car thing and TikTok are just the tip of the iceberg.”

Should Harris win the election, her approach would likely be more targeted and coordinated than Trump’s, people close to both administrations say.

For example, she is likely to continue working with allies much like the Biden administration has, to keep US tech from aiding the Chinese military, Harrell said.

A Trump administration, on the other hand, may move more quickly, and be more willing to punish recalcitrant allies.

"I think we learned from President Trump's first term that he has a bias for action," said Jamieson Greer, former chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative under Trump who remains close to the campaign.

Nazak Nikakhtar, a Commerce Department official under Trump who knows his current advisors, expects a Trump administration to be "much more aggressive about export control policies towards China."

She anticipates "a significant expansion of the entity list," to capture affiliates and business partners of listed companies. The list restricts exports to those on it. Trump added China's Huawei Technologies to the list for sanctions busting.

Licenses to ship US technology to China also are more likely to be denied, Nikakhtar said.

She said she would not be surprised if a Trump administration imposed restrictions not only on imports of Chinese chips but on "certain products containing those chips."

And she expects Trump to be tougher than Harris on allies who don't follow the US lead. "The Trump philosophy is more of a stick," she said.

Bill Reinsch, a former Commerce official during the Clinton administration sees Trump as likely to take a "sledgehammer" to controls where Harris would use a "scalpel."

"Trump's approach has been across-the-board, most clearly seen in his current tariff proposals," Reinsch said.

Trump has said he would impose tariffs of 10 or 20 percent on all imports (not just Chinese) and 60 percent or more on Chinese imports.

Harris has described Trump's tariff plan as a tax on consumers, but the Biden administration has seen the need for targeted tariffs including increasing the rate on semiconductors from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2025.

China has repeatedly said it would safeguard its rights and interests. Last year, it targeted US memory chip maker Micron Technology after Washington imposed a series of export controls on US chips and chipmaking equipment, and the US accused Beijing of penalizing other US companies amid growing tensions.

China also introduced export restrictions last year on germanium and gallium, metals widely used in chipmaking, citing national security interests. It issued new curbs on some graphite products that go into electric vehicle batteries in October 2023, days after the US tightened rules on chip-related exports. And in June it unveiled new rules on rare earth elements critical for military equipment and consumer electronics.

Wilbur Ross, commerce secretary under Trump, said that the US needs to be tough on China, but strategic, too, noting the US is still dependent on China for rare earths.

"It would be very dangerous to just try to cut them off," he said.