'Arena of Valor' continues rapid expansion

Global games developer TiMi Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent Games, released Arena of Valor in Russia as well as several Middle Eastern and North African countries on Thursday, introducing more players to the world's leading mobile game.

With newly-launched servers, the game has expanded to an additional 67 countries and regions, on top of its previous availability in 82 economies via the App Store or Google Play.

“Leveraging our expertise, which was nurtured in China and proven in 82 countries and regions, we're constantly investing in competitive games and working with players around the world to push the standard of the global mobile game industry to the next level,” said Ray Ning, the game's executive producer.

TiMi Studios and its publishing partners have banded together to promote the World Health Organization's “Play Apart Together” campaign.

Aimed to encourage players to practice social distancing through gameplay, the initiative incorporates WHO messaging about the coronavirus through games and communities. Arena of Valor promoted the messages in its growing community of 200 million registered players worldwide.

More than 40 million hours have been streamed by fans between the game's major tournaments, Arena of Valor World Cup and Arena of Valor International Championship, with the former standing as the most-watched mobile esports competition in 2019, according to data firm Esports Charts.