Adam Yee
Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) (OTCPK:TCTZF) admitted that it is in talks with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) about the sharing of revenue from its WeChat mini-games.
The Chinese tech giant is exploring ways to offer in-app transactions through Apple’s iOS payment system, Tencent’s chief Strategy manager James Mitchell on the Income Call.
Such a move would potentially allow Apple to take a share of in-game transactions.
Mitchell said Tencent does not currently monetize minigames through in-app purchases on iOS and that discussions are underway to potentially enable this feature, which would benefit developers, users and the two companies.
“We want to offer it on terms that we believe are economically viable and fair. That is currently being discussed and we hope that the discussion will lead to a positive outcome,” Mitchell said. “But if the discussion does not progress, the current status quo will remain.”
Previously, Tencent announced second-quarter results in which revenue increased 8% year-on-year, driven by the recovery of its gaming business following the release of a new hit game. Dungeon & Fighter Mobileor DnF Mobilein May.
The company’s total gross revenue from mini-games increased over 30% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024.
Apple has begun increasing pressure on Tencent and TikTok owner ByteDance to make changes to China’s most popular apps, the news agency had previously reported. In recent months, Apple has demanded that the two companies close loopholes that their in-app developers use to direct users to external payment systems and thus avoid Apple’s usual 30 percent commission, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month, citing people familiar with the matter.
