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Pixel P&L: Honor of Kings Finals Sets Guinness Record

Pixel P&L: Honor of Kings Finals Sets Guinness Record

AFK Gaming Editorial
November 11, 2025

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 5 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

Honor of Kings shatters esports history with 62,000 fans at Beijing's Bird's Nest, a new Guinness World Record.
Singapore launches a centralized esports training facility, pushing for official sport recognition.
Capcom and Valve unite Dota 2 with Monster Hunter in a three-month crossover event.
Unity Technologies posts first revenue growth in six quarters, driven by AI ads platform.
Ubisoft veteran Johannes Thimme launches Quality Time Studio in Germany.

Let's get into it.

Honor of Kings Shatters Esports Attendance Record at Beijing's Bird's Nest

More than 62,000 fans filled Beijing's iconic Bird's Nest stadium on November 8 for the Honor of Kings 2025 King Pro League Grand Finals, setting a Guinness World Record for largest esports event attendance. The milestone surpassed the previous record of 45,000 spectators at a 2016 Paris tournament.

Tickets sold out in 12 seconds, with most attendees traveling from outside Beijing. Guinness officials verified the count on-site and presented the award during the opening ceremony.

Defending champions Chengdu AG Super Play defeated Wolves Esports 4-2 in the best-of-seven finals, claiming their sixth consecutive tier-one championship. Star player YiNuo earned FMVP honors and an exclusive in-game skin, while the team secured roughly $2.8 million from the $10 million prize pool.

The production featured a 128-meter-wide stage with a 7,000-square-meter LED screen. The event competed with League of Legends Worlds 2025 and Counter-Strike 2's IEM Chengdu yet drew the largest live audience, demonstrating mobile esports' growing competitive scale.

Singapore Launches Centralized Esports Training Facility to Build Regional Hub

Singapore will open a centralized esports training center next month, backed by the Singapore Tourism Board, to develop local talent and establish qualification pathways for regional competitions including the SEA Games and Asian Games.

The facility aims to train players, host regional tournaments, and attract international visitors. The Singapore Tourism Board recently signed a multi-year partnership with BLAST Esports and hosted a $1 million Dota 2 tournament, signaling growing government support for competitive gaming.

The Singapore Esports Association is coordinating with Southeast Asian partners to create structured competition routes for major events. The initiative coincides with proposed amendments to the Singapore Sports Council Act that would officially recognize esports as a sport, providing players and organizers formal access to government resources and support.

SGEA president Ng Chong Geng said official recognition would streamline collaboration between government agencies and the esports community. Separately, Razer is establishing a global AI gaming hub in Singapore, further positioning the city-state as a technology and esports innovation center.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Capcom, Valve Launch Dota 2 and Monster Hunter Crossover Event

Capcom and Valve are merging Dota 2 with Monster Hunter in a three-month crossover featuring six armor sets, craftable cosmetics, and a new in-game hunting system. Players can grind materials to unlock free content or purchase the Expedition Pack for premium items, including character transformations into Rathalos and Bullfango, plus exclusive Palico courier outfits and pet Poogie variants with custom effects.

Unity Posts First Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth in Six Quarters

Unity Technologies reported $470.6 million in third-quarter revenue, up 5% year-over-year, marking its first growth since Q4 2023. The company's Vector AI ads platform and improved cost controls drove the performance, with Grow Solutions rising 6% to $318.3 million and Create Solutions up 3% to $152.4 million. Despite reaching $350.3 million in gross profit, Unity posted a $127 million net loss.

Ubisoft Veteran Johannes Thimme Launches Quality Time Studio in Germany

Johannes Thimme, a 20-year gaming industry veteran who spent 13 years at Ubisoft working on Assassin's Creed and Far Cry franchises, has founded Quality Time Studio in Lower Saxony, Germany. The new developer will create original game prototypes while providing consulting and mentoring services to emerging studios. Thimme aims to establish Lower Saxony as a creative gaming hub beyond Germany's major urban centers.

⚔️Side Quest

🤣Laugh:

📺 Listen: Video Game Executive Director at Circana, Mat Piscatella, breaks down how gaming has transformed since the PS2 days when Madden NFL 2001 ruled physical sales. He explores why growth stalled after 2020's peak, how Microsoft and Sony are pivoting to multiplatform strategies, and what the shift to digital means for the industry.

🎮 Play: Voidtrain offers a uniquely relaxing survival experience where you build and customize your train while journeying through a mysterious void. The linear track-based progression creates a meditative pace, though some may find the straight-line movement restrictive. Beneath its chill exterior lies surprising depth: puzzle levels, wave survival arenas, hostile raids, and collectible pets that assist with gathering and crafting. Perfect if you're looking for methodical progression wrapped in an intriguing story.

📚 Read: Todd Howard opens up about Fallout 4's tenth anniversary while offering rare insights into The Elder Scrolls 6 development, including yesterday's playtest details. He discusses why The Elder Scrolls 6 has taken too long, lessons from Fallout 4's dialogue system, and his dream of shadow-dropping TES6.

💡Did You Know

Kratos' iconic habit of calling Atreus "boy" throughout God of War (2018) and Ragnarok wasn't originally a deliberate character choice, it was born from practical necessity during development. According to the development team, they simply "couldn't think of a good name for the kid" for a significant portion of production, so the character remained nameless in early builds. What started as a placeholder became one of the game's most memorable elements, perfectly capturing Kratos' emotional distance and evolving relationship with his son.