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Virus Quarantines in China Spur Tencent, NetEase Gaming Surge

By Bloomberg / Mar 04, 2020 11:40 AM / Economy

Photo: VCG

Photo: VCG

Active users of mobile games developed by Tencent and NetEase have surged in China as quarantines keep people at home, underscoring the relative outperformance of their shares amid the coronavirus-driven market tumult.

For Mahjong and Game For Peace, two of Tencent’s most popular titles, daily active users increased 109% and 44%, respectively, in the two months through February, according to App Store data from mobile app researcher Apptopia Inc. Other Tencent games including Honor of Kings, Happy Poker, and QQ Speed have also seen usage increases of more than 20% over the two-month period.

The spike in game-playing comes as more people in China have been subject to quarantines as part of the nation’s attempt to contain the coronavirus, which has spread from the city of Wuhan throughout the world. At least 80,000 cases have been reported in China, and the illness has killed almost 3,000 people there.

This year’s increase was more than double the growth seen during the previous Chinese New Year holiday period. Aggregate DAUs across all six games grew 48% from December 2019 to February 2020, compared with 19% in the year-ago period.

Related: ByteDance Eyes Tencent, NetEase With Key Gaming Appointment


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