How many Chinese LoL servers are there?
As of 2023, there are currently 29 active League of Legends (LoL) servers hosted in China – up from 26 servers in 2021. 19 of these servers are operated by China Telecom, while 7 servers are run by China Unicom. 3 additional LoL servers were brought online in 2022 by Tencent Games to meet growing demand.
The Surging Popularity of League of Legends in China
LoL continues to be one of the most popular PC games in China. Recent data indicates over 50 million monthly active LoL players across the country – supported by a dedicated player base and strong esports scene.
For context, the 2021 LoL World Championship peaked at over 74 million concurrent viewers in China. And Riot Games‘ Arcane animated series set viewership records on Chinese streaming platforms – scoring over 130 million views within the first few hours of release. Fueled by this growing base, Chinese LoL tournaments have awarded over $30 million in prize money. Top Chinese teams and players like JackeyLove have earned well over $1 million competing professionally.
Why Are There So Many Regional LoL Servers in China?
China‘s vast geographic territory and population of over 1.4 billion necessitates having localized infrastructure to support low-latency game connections. Players connecting to servers outside their region would experience severe lag, impacting the real-time experience LoL demands.
There is also a technology need for multiple servers to handle load balancing as China‘s player base continues expanding. By routing users to lower traffic servers, it helps keep ping rates and wait times as optimal as possible.
Different connectivity across Chinese internet service providers is another driver of needing diverse LoL environments. China Telecom and China Unicom have varying network capabilities and customers bases across cities and provinces. Having separate server clusters allows Tencent to maximize performance for all user segments.
Where Are the LoL Servers Located in China?
Rather than being concentrated in one area, China‘s LoL servers are geographically distributed to provide the lowest possible ping times:
- Northern servers located in major cities like Beijing and Shenyang for coverage across northern and central China.
- Coastal servers positioned in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong to reduce latency in dense population centers.
- Inland servers in Chongqing and Xi‘an to better serve users residing far from the coasts.
These server sites leverage cloud infrastructure for flexibility to scale capacity based on shifting demand. They also employ optimizations like direct ISP peering, content caching, and redundancy configurations to maximize uptime and performance.
The Evolution of China‘s League of Legends Ecosystem
League of Legends first launched in China in 2011 under the publishing partnership between Riot Games and Tencent. Initial reception was muted under this model, prompting Tencent to acquire the rights to operate LoL in China starting in 2015.
Since taking over, Tencent has heavily invested in localizing content, cultivating grassroots amateur circuits, and integrating LoL with popular Chinese apps like WeChat and Mobile QQ. This fueled a new boom in popularity the past several years.
Trends like mobile gaming, live streaming, and youth culture have provided further tailwinds. And industry analysts expect China‘s LoL player base and commercial ecosystem to continue expanding for the mid-term as penetration of gaming grows across inland provinces.
The 29 active LoL servers in China – and counting – stand as a testament to the game‘s rampant popularity. As the player base grows, expect continued infrastructure investment to keep queue times fast and ping rates crisp across this vast player base.
