Highlights
- HOK Studio launches in India with a creator incentive pool above INR 10M.
- King’s Arise India gives teams a route to KWC at EWC26 and a $3M USD global prize pool.
- Honor of Kings expands its India ecosystem across creators, players, and esports.
Honor of Kings (HOK) is expanding its India strategy with simultaneous investments in content creation and esports. The game’s publisher announced the local rollout of HOK Studio and the King’s Arise India: KWC at the EWC26 Qualifier. The move follows the game’s March 2026 launch in India and signals a broader push to establish a long-term local ecosystem for creators, players, and competition.
HOK Studio is the game’s official creator platform, designed to support creator missions, community initiatives, and reward programs. In its first India phase, the platform plans to launch a content creator incentive program with combined cash rewards exceeding INR 10 million.
Eligible creators may also receive exclusive rewards, tokens, official promotional support, and early access opportunities, subject to platform rules. The program is open to India-based creators across short-form video, entertainment fan content, guides, tutorials, livestreaming, and esports coverage.
Both emerging and established creators are eligible.
Dean Huang, producer of HOK, stated that India is a major market for the title and that the company is focused on building “a strong, localized ecosystem that goes beyond gameplay.” He also added that the goal is to create opportunities for creators and players to grow with the game.
Level Infinite
Honor of Kings India Esports Roadmap Expands with KWC Qualifier
The company also outlined the competitive pathway for Indian teams through the King’s Arise India qualifier. The tournament schedule and prize details are as follows:
- Player registration will remain open from April 19 to April 26, 2026.
- Open qualifier matches are scheduled from April 30 to May 3, 2026.
- Qualified teams will compete in the online playoffs from May 8 to May 10, 2026.
- The tournament will conclude with offline finals on May 17, 2026.
- The event features a total prize pool of INR 500K.
Five teams from the open qualifiers will join S8UL Esports, RNTX, and Aeternity Esports, which qualified through the City Tour. Meanwhile, two teams will earn places at KWC at EWC26, where they will compete for a share of the $3M USD global prize pool.
The event will use formats such as Global Ban & Pick, where heroes used in earlier games cannot be picked again later in the same match. It will also feature a best-of-seven Grand Final with Ultimate Battle if the series reaches Game 7. That final format uses blind drafting with no hero restrictions, allowing mirror lineups and a decisive finish.
The combined creator and esports initiatives position India as more than a player base, giving local talent defined routes into Honor of Kings’ global ecosystem.
