Tencent makes $7b in Q1 2017, $3.3b from online games division

In their most recent earnings announcement, Tencent have announced that they have made a little over $7b in Q1 2017, with $3.3b coming from the online games division.

$3.3b is more money than most games companies will make in a year, but Tencent have the benefit of access to the Chinese market, but also owning monolithic games companies like Riot Games and Supercell. Indeed, League of Legends was directly called out ina statement on the earnings, saying that the game was simply making more cash than it used to.

Daniel Ahmad, a popular commentator on the Chinese games industry, sent a tweet that positions the news better: $3.3b is more money than Ubisoft and Take Two made as a pair, over the entirety of 2016.

It’s a nearly meaningless amount of money, there’s so much of it, and $2b of the $7b the company made was pure profit. It’s a stupendous amount of money, and it doesn’t look likely to slow down with Tencent’s smart acquisitions and the continuing dominance of League of Legends as an esport.