Tencent has used stealth to become a gaming superpower

TENCENT, THE world’s biggest gaming company, gives away most of its video games for nothing. Lest anyone think that the Chinese tech giant, which has a market value of $580bn, has a heart of gold, think again. It makes most of its gaming sales by encouraging players to buy virtual clothing, weapons, explosives and the like. These are usually cheap but prices increase depending on their cosmetic appeal or effectiveness in blasting an opponent to smithereens. For reasons known only to gamers, they willingly pay. During the lockdown in China, gaming revenues soared.