Tencent and developer TiMi Studio Group have officially opened applications for the 2027 Honor of Kings Global Esports Team Partner Program. The initiative invites professional esports organisations across Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines to apply for partnered status within their respective regional leagues for the 2027 competitive season.
Applications remain open until 4 December 2026, with confirmed partner lineups scheduled for official reveal in January 2027.
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The 2027 framework classifies accepted organisations across three distinct tiers: “Flagship”, “Core”, and “Rising”, with funding, operational backing, and contractual requirements scaled by tier and regional placement. According to the announcement, which includes the application link, evaluation for partner slots extends beyond competitive track records to assess organisational stability, brand reach, operational infrastructure, and long-term commitment to the Honor of Kings ecosystem.
Selected partner teams will receive direct entry into their corresponding regional leagues alongside operational subsidies, content creation support, and community event backing. Furthermore, the programme introduces financial competitive incentives tied to performance benchmarks and the strategic recruitment of import players or coaching staff. Detailed figures, however, have not been disclosed.
Eligible partners will also gain access to commercial revenue opportunities, including in-game asset co-branding such as team Voice Stickers, as well as priority consideration for cross-publisher collaborations across Tencent and TiMi media projects. It is expected in return that partners effectively “maintain professional operations, compete, create content and engage their communities,” with funding and incentives “linked to agreed requirements and actual delivery.”
The launch of the 2027 partner framework underscores Tencent’s push to formalise the mobile MOBA commercial infrastructure outside of China. The title’s domestic circuit, the King Pro League (KPL), previously set a Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a single esports match when over 62,000 fans attended the 2025 KPL Grand Finals at Beijing’s National Stadium.
Internationally, Tencent has aggressively expanded the title’s footprint across key growth markets, including launching in India with direct qualification slots for the Honor of Kings World Cup (KWC) at the Esports World Cup (EWC). By establishing structured multi-tier partnership models across Southeast Asia and LATAM, Tencent aims to secure long-term institutional commitment from premier esports clubs to anchor a global competitive ecosystem.
