MOONTON has been making aggressive moves in the global market.
Its growth here locally is indisputable. In the local pro league, foreign esports orgs are investing into the MPL ecosystem. And then there are the rumors that MPL-PH will follow a franchise format — with, some say, a franchise fee that’s anywhere between P25 to 40 million. In a white paper released by YCP Solidiance, the Philippines is the second-largest ML market in the world.
On my feed, I also see my industry observers and peers celebrate the arrival of the competitive scene in Brazil and the development of the professional leagues in Europe. I was even surprised when I saw former Dota 2 legend, Dmitriy “LighTofHeaveN” Kupriyanov, as part of the talent pool of the Mobile Legends European Championship.
This made me wonder: Is Mobile Legends ready to go big and become a global hit? Will this finally end the duopoly dominated by Dota 2 and League of Legends?
They’ve already outlasted their initial competitors. Vainglory tried their best to be a revolutionary gaming juggernaut as the very first competitive mobile MOBA. Honor of Kings expanded beyond its Chinese origins by introducing its international counterpart, Arena of Valor.
Marvel even tried getting their foot in the door, hoping that their popular superhero universe would entice people to play Marvel: Super War.
Yet among all of the upcoming contenders, only Arena of Valor remains as an esports contender, with a dedicated event in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games. But its viewership numbers couldn’t compete with Moonton’s flagship game, even though AoV’s prize pool is larger compared to the latter.
Perhaps these are all telltale signs that Mobile Legends is the next big esports phenomenon. But looks can be deceiving.
The ascension of Moonton
Mobile Legends was released back in 2016 as a casual mobile MOBA. Compared to its other rivals — Dota 2, LoL — Mobile Legends was a convenient way for gamers to enjoy a 5-v-5 arena brawl.
You didn’t even need to own a PC. With Mobile Legends,all you needed was a phone.
Though the idea of bringing MOBA elements in the mobile gaming scene was a revolutionary concept, Moonton wasn’t the first to implement the idea.
It was Super Evil Megacorp who pioneered the mobile MOBA through Vainglory. In 2014, that game was launched as a 3-v-3 MOBA perfectly designed for touch. And it seemed Vainglory was destined for bigger things. In 2015, during the game’s meteoric rise, the developers hastily ventured into esports — a move that will forever haunt them.
In the early years of Vainglory, the game never had a currency system, meaning the developers had no sources of revenues. So for them to invest in esports didn’t really make any sense. Consider the OPEX needed to establish an esports ecosystem.
There were even anecdotes of casters and players being treated in luxurious hotels during tournaments.
This created a domino effect where Super Evil Megacorp ran out of financial runway to keep the game alive. They tried many methods to salvage their product, but the damage was already done. Devs abandoned the game in 2020.
What became a promising concept that could change the course of gaming ended up being a blunder, as Super Evil Megacorp went full speed ahead without considering the consequences. It was a mistake that Moonton capitalized on.
When Mobile Legends was launched, players could purchase in-game products, which provided a recurring source of revenue. It also helped that Mobile Legends was friendly for low-end smartphone users, while Vainglory needed a phone with beefier specs just to run it.
And instead of rushing the esports scene, Moonton took their time. They realized the potential in the Southeast Asia region and built their foundations in that area. Contrast this with Super Evil Megacorp, who immediately went all out in Europe and NA — regions that are extremely stubborn in accepting mobile gaming as a trend.
Seeing the massive success that they’ve accumulated from focusing on that region, Moonton decided that it was time to go global in 2019, by introducing the M1 World Championship. During that time, they’ve accumulated 500 million downloads and 75 million active players, majority of which come from Southeast Asia.
Overall, Moonton made the right moves, which propelled them to where they are right now. Currently, they are slowly entering the North American, South American, and European regions through their online tournaments, in order to gauge the community.
Given their initial success, their calculated methods in marketing the game, and their massive fanbase ranging in the millions, it can be argued that Moonton are poised for something big.
But there are other factors that could put the brakes on their plan to turn into a global esport.
Considering the hero pool of Mobile Legends
One of my biggest issues with the Mobile Legends esports scene is the lack of diversity in terms of the overall hero pool.
During the professional tournaments, there were heroes that instantly became a hit after their initial release, only for them to fizzle out and become forgotten when a new hero arrives.
Look at what happened to Gusion, who became the go-to assassin for players in MPL-PH Season 4. But things changed in Season 5 where Ling suddenly took over the spotlight.
Until now, Ling is still a popular choice for players, even on the international stage. Gusion is cuirrently viewed as an afterthought.
The same can be said with Terizla and Xborg, who became forces of destruction in Season 4, only for them to tumble down the pecking order, courtesy of a sidelane Uranus, Thamuz, Benedetta, and Paquito.
And how about the beginner level characters like Miya or Layla? When will they become a force to be reckoned with in professional tournaments? Given their irrelevance in the professional scene, the community would even go as far as call these heroes trash, which alienates the casual player base.
This is something that the other MOBAs like Dota 2 and League of Legends have addressed successfully.
I always see Wraith Kings and Vengeful Spirits, dubbed as beginner level heroes, appear in Dota’s premier tournaments. Both even became prominent picks in both TI8 and TI9. Even meme-worthy heroes like Techies, Sniper, and Pudge have a spotlight in these tournaments, though not as much as their meta counterparts.
Even the League of Legends scene has the likes of Ashe, Garen, and Miss Fortune in the pro rotations.
And comparing the number of unpicked heroes, there seems to be a huge discrepancy. Dota’s premier tournaments had like five or less unpicked heroes, while League of Legends had like 20 or less in a tournament, but could reach around 4 to 6 after an entire season.
Mobile Legends on the other hand would remain consistent of reaching 20 or more unpicked heroes in every tournament.
For a competitive esport, these numbers are disconcerting. Perhaps even other regions might even consider the game imbalanced.
What about Wild Rift?
But before Moonton can edge the two major juggernauts, they also need to factor in a rising contender in its own backyard: Wild Rift, a mobile version of League of Legends that was released last year.
In this 1v1 battle, Moonton still has the upper hand, having established SEA as a Mobile Legends stronghold.
But Riot Games has laid quick groundwork for the Wild Rift competitive scene. They’ve already launched the Icon Series for teams in Southeast Asia, and they’ve recently announced the Origin Series that caters to the other regions, specifically Europe, CIS, Turkey, Middle East, and North Africa.
Riot’s sphere of influence already spans the globe. League of Legends already has one of the largest esports communities in the world and the rising popularity of their first person shooter game Valorant and their card game Legends of Runeterra, gives them a broader audience and, perhaps, more resources, compared to Moonton.
In addition, Riot has already built a sustainable long-term foundation through their regional League of Legends tournaments, which could rope in Wild Rift. A $1.75 billion war chest amassed from LoL means they could funnel revenues from their other titles to build the Wild Rift scene.
Mobile game stereotypes
Besides the existence of other mobile MOBAs like AoV and Wild Rift, Moonton will also face something more entrenched: the very different gaming mindset in regions outside the developing world.
Regions like North America and Europe view mobile gaming as a leisurely pastime. Take a look at their most popular and most lucrative mobile games: Among Us, Pokemon Go, and Genshin Impact.
Mobile Legends may perhaps be considered a casual game, given the simplicity it possesses as compared to PC-based MOBAs. Still, the grinding 5-v-5 player vs. player approach, ranking system, and the (let’s face it) toxicity put it in a competitive level above, say, Pokemon Go.
And this remains to be an important question not only for Mobile Legends but also with other mobile MOBAs: How do you break this mindset?
These are all important factors to consider in Moonton’s global ambitions.
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