Tencent grows online game business, makes gains in mobile

Chinese internet giant Tencent has released its Q4 financials for the year ended December 31, 2016, and it was a year in which the company cemented its position as the top earning mobile games publisher on the planet. 

The Shenzhen-based outfit remains the biggest smartphone game publisher in China, and now the world according to App Annie's Global Grossing Chart. All-in-all, the firm saw mobile game revenue grow by 51 percent annually to 10.7 billion yuan ($1.55 billion).

Looking at the bigger picture, Tencent's combined online games revenue grew by 16 percent year-over-year to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.68 billion), with that increase primarily driven by contributions from its major PvP and RPG smartphone titles. 

"Our online games business delivered another year of solid growth. Through data mining, we improved performance of our existing titles and gained deeper insights into player behaviors," explained Tencent, offering a brief analysis of its annual performance and business strategy.

"In China, several of our self-created games such as Honour of Kings, Legend of YuLong Mobile and Naruto Mobile achieved significant success, and we reinforced our position as the preferred China publisher for local and overseas game developers. 

"[Touching on smartphone games] our strategy is to engage a large pool of casual gamers and gradually advance them to mid-core and hard-core categories."

Tencent was also pleased with its financial ventures within the games industry, and said its investments in Western companies such as Clash of Clans creator Supercell -- which it purchased for $8.6 billion last year -- and Paradox Interactive helped cement its position as a truly global player. 

Beyond that, the Chinese juggernaut also maintained its leadership as the largest PC game operator and publishing platform in China, and now operates all three of the region's top PC client games -- League of Legends, Dungeon & Fighter, and Cross Fire. 

Overall, Tencent saw revenues jump up by 48 percent year-over-year to $21.9 million, while profits rose by 43 percent over the same period to $5.9 million. Check out Tencent's complete financial report for yourself by clicking right here.