After acquiring a 5% stake in Ubisoft and signing a strategic partnership, Tencent will operate, publish, and promote the developer’s game titles in China.

Tencent has focused heavily on the mobile video games market, successfully porting PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS to mobile.

Esports up-comer Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege might get the mobile treatment, further accelerating the game’s growth.

Last month, Tencent and Ubisoft revealed a strategic agreement in which Tencent will operate, publish, and promote the game developer’s most successful titles on PC and mobile in the Chinese market. The agreement comes on the heels of Vivendi’s $2.56B exit from Ubisoft, that saw Tencent invest in the French gamemaker, acquiring a 5% stake in the company.

“Tencent manages the largest online games community in China and one of the largest, most active social networks in the world, so this deal should help us dramatically increase our games’ exposure and engagement in China,” Yves Guillemot, CEO and co-founder at Ubisoft said in a press release.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]For gamers, especially in China, the most interesting question now is: which games will make their way east?[/perfectpullquote]

The Chinese multinational, indeed, has a lock on the country’s estimated 500M players. Publishing top-sellers like Honor of Kings—the highest-grossing and most-played video game in the world—Riot Games’ League of Legends , and many more, Tencent is slowly becoming the omnipresent behemoth of video games, not just in China, but globally.

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Lately, the company has focused heavily on the mobile video games market, spending $8.6B to acquire a 84.3% stake in Clash Royale developer Supercell in 2016, and securing the rights to port last year’s Battle Royale smash hit PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS to mobile in China.

By acquiring a minority stake in Ubisoft and entering in a strategic partnership to publish the developer’s games in China, Tencent demonstrates its willingness to solidify its position in the global gaming sphere. For gamers, especially in China, the most interesting question now is: which games will make their way east? And on what platform?

Reaching out to Ubisoft regarding its plans, a company spokesperson told The Esports Observer that nothing is said and done, yet, but gave some hints:

“We’re first looking at games in genres that have proven successful in China. So, we’re starting by considering games with multiplayer elements and esports potential, and also games with RPG mechanics.”

Looking at Ubisoft’s game portfolio, many of its most successful games are single-player-focused, though they do offer multiplayer options. This includes some of its most popular franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Tom Clancy’s, or Far Cry. There’s one exception that stands out, however: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. The tactical shooter was build to be a multiplayer esports title from the very start, and has established a lively esports scene since its launch in December 2015.

In the first quarter of 2018, the game averaged a solid 12K concurrent viewers over 829 average concurrent channels. From Feb. 13 to Feb. 18, the game showed off its esports potential. The Six Invitational 2018, hosted by Ubisoft and ESL, featured the world’s best R6 Siege teams and reached 257K peak concurrent viewers at its finals between Penta Sports and Evil Geniuses.

Provided by TEO Audience Insights

Asked about the company’s plans in regards to R6 Siege, the spokesperson explained that “it’s too soon to say for certain, but R6 Siege is certainly among the games we’re considering.”

That said, the game could actually be Tencent’s next Chinese mobile port. As well as successfully launching PUBG mobile in China, Tencent also ported the tactical shooter CrossFire (an exceptionally popular esports title in China) to mobile. In the first quarter of 2016, which was when the CrossFire mobile game was launched, the company’s revenue from online games grew 28% to 17.09B yuan.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If Tencent decided to give R6 Siege the mobile treatment, the resulting game would be integrated into Tencent’s social media verticals.[/perfectpullquote]

If Tencent decided to give R6 Siege the mobile treatment, the resulting game would—like HoK, PUBG, and Supercell titles—be integrated into Tencent’s social media verticals. The holding company’s mobile titles rely on chat services QQ and WeChat, which support payment systems. Ubisoft would get a cut of any revenue generated not only by the in-app purchases, but also by in-app advertising.

Other than esports shooters like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Overwatch, R6 Siege plays relatively slow. The game’s tactics-heavy approach, arguably, makes it a proper candidate for mobile. In fact, R6 Siege console play—it can be played on both Xbox One as well as PS4—demonstrates how it could look on mobile: even slower, more methodical gameplay with longer and often less deadly gun battles.

One of the reasons why PUBG’s mobile version is surprisingly well-made is that it’s using Unreal Engine 4, same as the PC version, which supports mobile game development. R6 Siege, however, uses Ubisoft’s in-house engine Anvil, which doesn’t come with mobile support. Obviously, that’s an issue that can be overcome.

Taking all things into account, R6 Siege will likely be pushed towards the Chinese market one way or another. Whether the publisher will try and replicate the game’s PC success in the Republic, or put it through the same mobile port factory as PUBG and CrossFire, remains to be seen.