A decade ago, Tencent¡¯s MoreFun Studios was on the verge of collapse. Now the 1,600-strong operation and its leader Enzo Zhang are at the heart of the Chinese entertainment company¡¯s ambitions to craft international hits.
Long overshadowed by Tencent¡¯s bigger teams at Timi (¡°Honor of Kings¡°) and LightSpeed (¡°PUBG Mobile¡°), MoreFun in November released ¡°Arena Breakout: Infinite¡± ¡ª Tencent¡¯s newest ¡°Call of Duty¡°-style PC shooter, targeting a genre that typically tops spending charts. It¡¯s one of a handful of global titles the company hopes will anchor its most critical initiative: creating ¡°evergreen¡± franchises that can generate sales over many years. Tencent, which is eager to rejuvenate its lineup and topline growth, will be counting also on MoreFun¡¯s ¡°One Piece Mobile¡± next week, an arcade-style fighter based on the bestselling anime.
It¡¯s a high point in the roller-coaster career of 42-year-old Zhang. The studio chief created 2010¡¯s ¡°Roco Kingdom¡± just five years into his Tencent tenure, his first job after completing a law degree. That web-based game was a smash hit that spawned books, movies and even a theater production. Tencent entrusted him with his own studio to run, an unheard-of ascent for a novice producer.
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