Pocket Gamer’s Gamescom demos of Honor of Kings: World and Honor of Kings: Ace show two different, polished approaches to expanding the HoK franchise — one an ARPG-like companion, the other an autobattler — that could widen the series' reach and challenge Riot's foothold.
Honor of Kings: World is an approachable ARPG/MMO-style companion to the MOBA, with exploration, co-op, and the ability to play as iconic HoK characters.
Honor of Kings: Ace is an autochess-style title that uses recognizable HoK heroes, familiar autobattler mechanics, and higher production values to create a tournament-like experience.
HoK still lags League in global pop-culture recognition, but World and Ace are positioned to raise the franchise’s profile in the West.
Pocket Gamer's hands-on time at Gamescom 2026 covered two distinct Honor of Kings (HoK) projects: World and Ace. Both are spin-offs of the larger MOBA franchise, but they take different routes to expand HoK's audience. World targets players who prefer exploration and action combat, while Ace leans into the autochess genre using HoK's hero roster.
Honor of Kings: World — what it is and how it plays
Honor of Kings: World is presented as an MMO-like, action-RPG companion piece set in Primaera. You play a student at Jixia Academy training to wield the Flow. The demo focused on exploration, cooperative play, social systems, and the ability to switch into familiar HoK characters and use their signature abilities.
Combat skews toward high-flying hack-and-slash action. The writer compared the feel to Tekken-style exchanges, calling out the mobility and flashy inputs. The intent is to make the HoK universe accessible to players who dislike or avoid battle arena games while still giving longtime fans recognizable characters and mechanics.
Context matters: Tencent has resources to support a broad, cross-genre buildout of the franchise. The piece notes prior failed attempts by other studios at similar projects (2XKO is referenced as an example that floundered), but argues Tencent's investment gives World a better chance at a successful global roll-out.
Honor of Kings: Ace adapts HoK heroes into an autobattler format. The core loop is classic autochess: select hero units, place them on a grid, watch automated battles resolve, and lose health when you're defeated in matchups until only one player remains.
The demo highlights Ace's polish. Familiar autobattler mechanics — synergies, merging, awakened cards — are present, but the game stands out for its clean, minimalist UI, higher production values, and a soundtrack described as 'rough-and-ready' that supports a tournament atmosphere. The writer, despite disliking autobattlers in general, found Ace engaging and noted it would be accessible to players unfamiliar with HoK lore.
Implications for Riot and the wider market
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