Honor of Kings Launches in India With Two EWC 2026 Slots and 100 Million INR Investment

Sagar Mankar
4 minutes ago
2 min read

Honor of Kings has officially launched in India, bringing with it a detailed esports roadmap and a significant financial commitment to grow the local gaming community.

The mobile MOBA title, developed by Level Infinite, enters one of the fastest-growing gaming markets in the world. The game had already built considerable buzz before its release, with pre-registrations crossing the 2 million mark ahead of launch.

Dean Huang, the Game Producer of Honor of Kings, acknowledged the response, saying the team is "genuinely inspired" by those numbers. In an interview with GamingonPhone, Huang noted that the figure reflects a clear demand from Indian players for a deep, competitive mobile gaming experience.

On the investment front, the developers have committed 100 million INR toward building the creator and esports ecosystem in India. According to Huang, the funds will cover incentives, bonuses, and exclusive in-game content tasks designed to discover and reward outstanding creators in the country.

As for esports, India will receive two dedicated slots for the Honor of Kings World Cup at the Esports World Cup 2026.

To bridge grassroots talent to that international stage, the developers have rolled out the KINGS' Arise: India City Tour. The offline LAN tour will conclude with finals in three major cities, Bengaluru on March 22, Mumbai on March 29, and Delhi on April 5. Each city event carries a prize pool of INR 1,00,000.

Alongside this, the Honor of Kings Campus Series will introduce structured collegiate competitions across the country, helping develop the next generation of competitive players.

On the content side, an India-inspired hero is already in development. Huang confirmed that the character, based on Indian heritage, will arrive in June 2026. He described this as the start of a broader "localisation journey," with plans for more India-specific heroes, skins tied to local festivals, and collaborations that reflect the country's culture.

Infrastructure has also been addressed. Dedicated servers, a locally deployed Content Delivery Network (CDN), and a Battle Suit Accelerator have been set up to keep latency in check.

The game has also been optimized for budget and mid-range devices, which make up a significant share of the Indian mobile market.

For players jumping in now, several limited-time launch events are live. The "Sign In for a Free Epic Skin" event runs until April 11 and lets players unlock heroes like Mai Shiranui, Ziya, and Augran through daily logins. The "Draw Daily to Get Gift Cards" event, running from March 13 to March 21, offers rewards including an INR 4,500 Amazon gift card and Flipkart vouchers.

There is also the "Game Paltega: Desi Legends United" influencer event running until March 24, where players can earn exclusive avatar frames, creator stickers, and voice packs.