After the collaboration, it disappeared without a trace, with no new skins or events every week. What prompted the developers to adjust the skin release schedule? (Part Two)

Skins are a topic that casual players are most interested in. A new hero's appearance is like a singer releasing a new song or album, with expectations soaring. If you choose your favorite hero, you're overjoyed. Finally, this day has come. Among the hundreds of heroes in the game, some have been almost relegated to the sidelines. The probability of getting a high-quality skin is extremely low.

Without the "skin rain" effect, less popular heroes have a lower chance of getting new skins.

Even niche high-level games have their own dedicated market. Nuwa's redesign secured both the Year of the Snake and anniversary limited editions within a year. Mi Yue was repositioned as a team fight top laner. The collaboration between "Ne Zha" and the West Sea Dragon King, featuring a villainous character, showcased impressive special effects and character modeling, making it a dark horse in the collaboration scene. Female hero skins selling well were expected. Male heroes, however, tend to have the same few skins available. Therefore, the appearance of a skin rain, to some extent, increased the income of those without skins. Once the skin rain stops, the endless waiting continues.

Getting back to the main point, why has Honor of Kings suddenly changed its usual style and entered a period of inactivity? Not only have skins been released, but the frequency of events has also decreased. Basically, the weekly updates are just hero attribute changes. Unless you prioritize ranking up quickly and the overall gameplay experience, you'll stick to your main hero, ignoring the changes in pace, and struggling with diminished combat power until the very end, experiencing winning streaks followed by losing streaks, only to catch up to the highest rank, "King," at the very end of the season. Furthermore, skin designs provide cosplayers with valuable reference and inspiration, and are helpful for offline events, attracting attention, facilitating photo interactions, and creating a lively atmosphere. This shows the huge influence of skins. Why then have the developers chosen to abandon the original skin plan? Perhaps there's something else going on behind the scenes?

Continuously adding new game modes and expanding social features

If we were to analyze this, the most likely explanation is that the game is shifting its focus to other markets. As one commenter mentioned, Honor of Kings, the Chinese version, is a game designed for mobile devices. Although it's a national-level mobile game, it seems to lack appeal beyond competition and skins. Therefore, it developed the Jixia Academy feature, where players can play mahjong, even grow fruits and vegetables, decorate their shops, and manage family farms, much like a typical casual simulation game. This sparked another wave of discussion online. Its unique gameplay gradually gained popularity, demonstrating the power of social interaction. The changes were significant, and with the frequency of skin releases decreasing, players naturally shifted their attention to other games.

Image source: Internet