Chinese teams at the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Paris are showcasing Honor of Kings, a homegrown title rooted in Chinese history that is now reaching global audiences.
The six week competition opened July 6, drawing global teams and fans to one of the world’s largest esports stages. Honor of Kings, one of 

China’s biggest esports titles, commands a massive following at home and a growing audience overseas.
"The atmosphere of this international competition is perhaps a bit more intense, and the mindset going into the match is different too, because we're representing China in an overseas tournament, so I'm really happy. And it's also very powerful," said Liu Yunyu, a Chinese player.
The game’s popularity is reflected in surging ticket demand, with past finals selling out in seconds.

"We can see from the ticket sales. Actually, right now all the tickets are going so fast. Like for last year, we had one Honor of Kings final in the Bird's Nest, [which] we call the National Stadium in Beijing, and it can hold 62,000 of people, but the tickets are gone in 12 seconds. So it's so fast," said Eddy Chen, Chief Operating Officer of AG Esports' overseas headquarters and President of the Esports Association of Hong Kong, China.

A big part of its appeal is its Chinese identity, with many of the heroes inspired by figures from the country's history.

"Honor of Kings is a game that with a lot of Chinese historical idols, with heroes inside. So it is very closely related to the Chinese history, and also because this is a mobile game. So right now the China mobile is developing very fast. So everyone have the mobile phone to play, and as well as I think because this is a mind game," Chen said.

China now has more than 495 million esports users, and the industry generated more than four billion U.S. dollars last year. The ambition now is to turn that enormous domestic audience into a truly global market.

"We believe that this kind of global tournament can definitely help a lot of Chinese gaming companies to do cultural exports. Just like, for example, the Honor of Kings game. They are developed with a lot of Chinese history. And when the global players play this game, actually they can learn the Chinese history as well," Chen said.