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China’s biggest 5v5 mobile MOBA Honor of Kings is set to launch worldwide with a Global release, slated to officially open its server on June 20, 2024.
With great anticipation for the MOBA’s launch, our sister site Wanuxi had the honor to interview members of the Honor of Kings development team at TiMi Studio Group recently about the Global release and its exciting details.
Seasons
As exciting as the upcoming launch is, there are concerns about how seasons work. While the game will officially release worldwide on June 20th, it has already been soft launched in multiple regions across the world. For regions that can access Honor of Kings, the game is currently in its Season 3.
With this concern, we asked the development team whether after the official launch, would players be playing the ongoing third season or be reset to the first. If the season does not reset, then how would level differences between players be addressed, especially concerning summoner skill unlocks?
Rather than continuing from Season 4, the developers responded and said “Players in the newly live regions will go straight to Season 6.”
“Additionally, there will be different battlefields in different regions. To clarify, leveling does not and will not impact summoner skill unlocks.”
Catching Up to Mainland Server
Currently, the latest hero in the mainland server is Da Siming (大司命), who will not be showing up in the global version yet. In fact, the global version will have much fewer heroes than the mainland server at launch. In regards to the missing heroes, we asked the development team how frequently heroes would be released and if there are any plans to synchronize releases across all versions of Honor of Kings.
To that, the developers said that at launch, the global version can expect a total of 86 heroes. “While this is fewer than available on the mainland server, we have carefully considered the balance and counterplay of each of them to ensure that they all provide strategic and gameplay opportunities. What’s more, we are providing all newcomers to Honor of Kings a one-month free trial of all 86 Heroes so they can experience their different skills and attributes and find the Hero that best suits their style.”
“We need to respect the copyright and cultural differences in each region, but in principle, all Heroes and their Skins already available in Mainland China will be gradually available to players worldwide, but we cannot provide a precise schedule at this time.”
Not the Same Character, But the Same Hero
One thing we noticed in the global server is that some heroes are not available in the mainland server, but functionally, their skills correspond to some heroes from the mainland server. Curious, we asked if there will be more heroes modified or downright replaced due to special reasons in the future, and will the global server be getting original heroes.
“Ahead of the game’s global launch, we have made some adjustments to some Heroes based on the preferences of players around the world, but it will not affect the balance on the battlefield,” responded the developers.
Hero Adjustments
Keeping on the topic of heroes, we noticed that balance-wise, some heroes in the global server are not balanced the same as they were in the mainland server. So, we asked the developers if the global server is lagging behind by several versions in terms of hero adjustments, or if the global server is set to have its own independent balance plans.
“Honor of Kings’ hero mechanics are largely consistent globally,” replied the developers. “But because the global server has a different number of Heroes at this stage and is geared toward different players, adjustments to the overall balance are subject to a revised set of criteria.”
Data Transfer
For long-time players, one concern about the global version is that their account already existed in the mainland server and they fear abandoning it. So, we asked the developers if there were any ways to transfer data from mainland server accounts to global server accounts.
“We will provide plenty of benefits for those players who have been playing on the mainland server up to now so that the transition to the global version is as smooth as possible. We will share more details in the near future.”
Language Matchmaking
Global servers will have players from all over the world playing and matching together. This means, players of diverse cultures, languages, and backgrounds. With concern for the language barriers, we asked the developers if there are options for players to choose to match with groups from the same region or speak the same language.
“As players ourselves, we appreciate the need to have a thorough matchmaking system,” explained the developers.
“By default, matches will be played on the server with the lowest latency meaning players from the same or neighboring regions are matched first to ensure a better gaming experience. We also have an in-game chat system that enables players to share pre-set key messages, which will be auto-translated into relevant languages.”
Events
As a live-service title, in-game activities and events are no doubt expected. Now that the game is going global, we wondered if events will be synchronized with the mainland server or if the global server will have its own independent activity planning.
“We will deliver a mix of global and regional events, with examples of the former being New Year celebrations or the 5 5 Festival. For the latter, we will continue to identify events such as the Brazilian Carnival or Moonlight Garden that show our commitment to our existing local communities and those that will spring up following our continued rollout.”
Speaking of events, we started discussing offline activities. For the mainland server, the developers would sometimes organize offline lucky draw events, where players can stand a chance to win game-related merchandise and other rewards. Many overseas players felt regretful because they couldn’t participate, as some of the prizes were attractive.
When it comes to plans for the global server, the developers noted that they will have offline events in different regions, mainly focusing on the esports scene.
The developers added, “We will organize various peripheral giveaway activities at the esports event venues. We have already held the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 1 esports event in Istanbul, Turkey, and commencing on June 29, the Invitational Season 2 will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Players are welcome to join us offline and meet us in person.”
Apart from esports and lucky draw events, mobile live-service titles tend to have brand collaborations, such as collaborating with fast food chains and beverage stores like KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and more.
For Honor of Kings Global, the developers said that they have nothing specific to share for now. “We are always exploring potential partnerships, including those that will position Honor of Kings in the real world.”
Skins
Speaking of collaborations, we were curious if collaboration skins that were released in the mainland server be eventually released in the global server.
Answering that, the developers said, “Our goal will always be to offer all our community, wherever they are based, the same content. However, there may be some instances where regional tastes or clearance approval from the IP owner sadly do not make this possible.”
With a focus on esports, Honor of Kings does have its own pro league, and in previous years, there have been some KPL exclusive and FMVP (Final MVP Player) skins. In regards to these tournament-exclusive skins, the developers said, “Esports event skins are an important part of our competition ecosystem.”
“Every year’s KPL exclusive skins have received positive feedback from players. In the future, on global servers, we will take into account the preferences of players from around the world, and new skin plans are under careful consideration.”
That concludes our interview with the Honor of Kings development team at TiMi Studio Group. We would like to once again thank the Honor of Kings development team for their time and opportunity in the global release of Honor of Kings.
Honor of Kings launches globally for Android and iOS devices on June 20, 2024.
