Tencent Reports 22% Revenue Growth Driven by Minigame Platform
Minigames Become a Major Revenue Source
Tencent Holdings has reported Q3 2025 revenue of 167.2 billion yuan ($23 billion), up 22% year-over-year. The standout performer was the WeChat Minigame platform, which contributed an estimated 20 billion yuan in revenue through a combination of in-app purchases and advertising — making it one of the fastest-growing segments in Tencent's portfolio.
President Martin Lau told analysts that Minigames "have created an entirely new category of gaming that supplements rather than cannibalizes our traditional game business." WeChat Minigames are lightweight games that run within the WeChat app without requiring separate downloads, lowering the barrier to engagement.
Platform Mechanics
The Minigame platform hosts over 600,000 titles, ranging from casual puzzles to surprisingly deep strategy games. Tencent takes a 40% revenue share from developers on in-app purchases and also earns advertising revenue when developers choose to monetize through ads rather than direct payments.
Monthly active users for the Minigame platform exceed 500 million, with average daily time spent per user at 45 minutes. The platform has attracted independent developers who previously focused on iOS and Android app stores, drawn by WeChat's massive distribution advantage and lower customer acquisition costs.
Traditional Gaming Also Strong
Tencent's domestic game revenue grew 14% to 37.3 billion yuan, led by continued strong performance from Honor of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite, and the recently launched Delta Force. International game revenue through subsidiary Riot Games grew 8%, with League of Legends and Valorant both maintaining stable player bases.
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad noted that Tencent's gaming business "has successfully diversified from relying on a few mega-titles to running a platform ecosystem where thousands of smaller games collectively generate massive revenue."
Advertising and Cloud
Online advertising revenue grew 19% to 29.9 billion yuan, driven by video account ads and Minigame-related advertising. Tencent Cloud and enterprise services revenue grew 11% to 53.1 billion yuan. The company's net profit of 53.3 billion yuan exceeded analyst estimates by 8%.
Tencent's stock rose 5% in Hong Kong trading following the earnings release. The company announced a 10% increase to its share buyback program, bringing total authorized buybacks to HK$100 billion.
