Tencent has been quietly establishing its presence in the casual gaming sector for more than a decade. In recent years, it has strengthened its layout (can be translated as 'position' or 'footprint' in this context) through widespread investments in teams both domestically and internationally. Not only has it acquired a controlling stake in the Swiss casual gaming platform Miniclip, helping it expand into a giant with 22 studios, but it has also directly invested in casual gaming teams in Turkey, the United States, and other regions, while acquiring relevant casual and card gaming teams in China. Currently, casual gaming represents one of the few segments in the gaming industry that maintains consistent growth. Leveraging its WeChat Mini Games ecosystem, Tencent has formed a complete business closed loop (translated as 'closed loop'), making its layout (position/footprint) highly cost-effective. Previously, Tencent's casual gaming revenue was scattered across different financial reports, and given the enormous base of its overall gaming revenue, related businesses were barely noticeable in the reports. However, in recent years, the frequency with which these businesses are mentioned in the reports has gradually increased, highlighting their growing importance. Although some of Tencent's early casual gaming investments failed to achieve the expected results, the amount of its individual investments in this sector has continued to rise in recent years, and the effects of its years of low-profile layout (positioning/footprint) are gradually becoming apparent.
