‘PH is Always Our Top-Tier Market’ – HOK Boss
When Honor of Kings (HoK) looks at the global map, one country glows brighter than the rest. Not because it’s the largest. Not because it’s the most lucrative. But because its players have done what Filipino players always do when a new battleground arrives: show up hungry, loud, and absolutely unafraid.
So when Rex Wang, Game Operations Director of Honor of Kings, says the Philippines is a “top-tier market,” he says it the way someone speaks about a place that has already rewritten the rules.
“For Honor of Kings, the Philippines is always our top-tier market,” Wang tells ALL-STAR. “We see the passion and potential of Filipino players and the young generation.”
It explains everything: the game’s Filipino voice packs, the arrival of Lapu-Lapu as the game’s first Filipino-inspired hero, the decision to bring the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 to Manila, and the massive leap of hosting KIC 2025. In the span of just a year, HoK has embedded itself.
Under Rex Wang’s watch, the Philippines is becoming a hub for major esports events.
In early 2025, HoK held its Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 (HoK Invitational S3) at SM City North EDSA in Manila.
Later in 2025, the region was chosen once again to host Honor of Kings International Championship 2025 (KIC 2025) in Manila.
HoK’s global 2025-esports roadmap reportedly includes a commitment worth USD 15 million to build professional leagues worldwide — including a dedicated local league in the Philippines (Philippines Kings League, or PKL).
Where the Fire Started
Wang points to two early signals: the success of HOK marketing and the Mini Battles during the KIC broadcasts. Both saw how the Filipino audience would go for a game still building its presence.
The answer? Far deeper than expected. Turnout skewed young, loud, and competitive—not casual dabblers, but players who were already formulating builds, learning microtimings, and arguing over their favorite heroes.
And in a region where mobile esports isn’t just entertainment but aspiration, that mattered.
But the growth wasn’t limited to the usual suspects—teenage boys grinding ranked into the night. HoK saw something else.
Wang says they’re equally focused on female players, not as an afterthought, but as a core audience:
“Apart from attracting the young generation, we also focus on the female players on being part of our group. So we try our best in how to attract young players and have female players come on stage.”
That last part—come on stage—is key. HoK doesn’t just want female players; they want Filipino women competing, creating content, being part of the esports ecosystem. The Philippines, after all, produces some of the most influential female creators in Southeast Asia.
Manila is the Key to Winning the Region
If you read the earlier ALL-STAR piece on HoK’s global plan, you’ll remember the company’s thesis: build scale by building community, not the other way around.
They turn ranked games into bonding rituals, memes into voice packs, and players into household names. In that ecosystem. That’s why KIC 2025 landing in the Philippines wasn’t a surprise but an inevitability.
For a game looking to be the next giant in mobile esports, Manila is the litmus test. If HoK can win the Philippines, it can win the region. If HoK can win the region, it can win the world.
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