(Bloomberg) -- NetEase Inc. shares marked their biggest intraday jump in a month on the eve of the company’s launch of its biggest summer bet, the mobile version of Naraka Bladepoint.
The Hangzhou-based publisher is expected to generate sales of 6.4 billion yuan ($880 million) from the game over its first 12 months, with Naraka Mobile contributing 6% to 7% of overall revenue growth in that period, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Lincoln Kong. The positive appraisal and expectations of a strong debut on Thursday drove the stock up as much as 6.3% in Hong Kong.
NetEase has already racked up more than 40 million pre-registrations from players interested in picking up the freemium mobile game when it’s available. To date, Naraka Bladepoint has had over 40 million PC players, and the company expects the mobile edition to be bigger.
“Three years ago, we didn’t have high hopes for the PC title, but now our expectation for mobile is really high,” said Ray Kuan, lead producer for the Fortnite-like battle royale game. After the PC game switched to a free-to-play monetization model, revenue picked up. That gave NetEase confidence that the mobile game will be an even bigger commercial success, Kuan added.
Naraka Bladepoint Mobile is the third major release in China in recent weeks, coming shortly after the successful launches of Dungeon & Fighter Mobile by archrival Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Zenless Zone Zero by Mihoyo Co. The positive reaction to those titles suggested that the Chinese consumer, whose spending has been muted in other areas, is still keen on mobile games and eager for fresh material.
Like DnF Mobile, Naraka is a well established franchise on PC — and it’s already made its way to console platforms — that’s now expanding to the mobile realm. Both Tencent and NetEase had to endure a protracted delay for their mobile games due to Beijing’s pause on granting licenses for new game releases. Naraka has a proven and familiar monetization system, where players are encouraged to spend on cosmetics and extras to enhance their experience.
The daily active users and peak concurrent players on Naraka’s PC version reached all-time highs recently, according to Kuan. Having a vibrant and active community for the game is essential in the genre, as Naraka’s gameplay is built around 60-player virtual battles that endure until only one is left standing.
Naraka Bladepoint Mobile will also debut NetEase’s most advanced in-game AI to date, Kuan said. An artificial intelligence copilot will assist players who need a buddy in the two-on-two battle mode.
--With assistance from Jeanny Yu.
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