Tencent’s mobile app WeChat scored a win this past Chinese New Year after it took the lead with the most red envelope money gifts sent through its platform, surpassing its closest rival, Alibaba. Now, Tencent announced a new milestone for its WeChat app.
According to reports released Wednesday (March 18), WeChat has secured 500 million monthly active users (MAUs) as of the end of 2014’s fourth quarter. That figure is a spike from the 355 million MAUs recorded at the same time the year prior, and an increase from the 468 million recorded in Q3 2014, reports said.
Despite the achievement, reports added that WeChat has seen a dramatic decline in the growth of active user members. Tencent saw a stable 6.8 percent growth between Q3 and Q4, however. WeChat’s chat app QQ reportedly pumped $1.92 billion in revenue from social games in the fourth quarter. That figure is an increase of 41 percent from the same time the year prior.
That revenue emerges one month after Tencent announced the acquisition of Swiss mobile gaming firm Miniclip for an undisclosed amount.
Tencent did not reveal in its quarter earnings report where these 500 million users are located, but Tech In Asia speculates that the majority can be found in mainland China. Reports also highlighted the peculiar absence of the corporation’s global expansion efforts in the earnings report.
WeChat may have beat out rivals in funds sent through its red envelope campaign during the Chinese New Year last month, but according to reports, chat app rivals still remain ahead of Tencent. WeChat counterparts WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, saw 700 million MAUs recorded at the beginning of 2015.
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