Tencent, Pokemon Unite for new game

Tencent (0700) and Pokemon have announced a jointly-developed new game for smartphones and Nintendo's Switch console.

Pokemon Unite, created partly by Tencent's Timi Studios, allows players to compete in five-versus-five battles, using the powers and attacks of Pokemon creatures.

The software will be released free with in-game purchases, but there is no release date yet.

The Tencent subsidiary and Pokemon announced their partnership last year.

Meanwhile, Tencent is buying certain assets of iFlix, a struggling streaming platform with about 25 million users focused in South and Southeast Asia.

Tencent will acquire iFlix's content, technology and resources, expanding its geographic reach in a key area of growth.

But it will not take on iFlix's debt.

Meanwhile, SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son has stepped down from the board of Alibaba (9988).

Son ended his company's annual shareholder meeting yesterday with the surprise announcement about him leaving the Alibaba board.

The billionaire said his departure should not be interpreted as indicating disagreement, though Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma Yun is quitting SoftBank's board at the same time.

Ma and Son have maintained a close friendship since the Japanese entrepreneur was an early investor in Alibaba and helped it along to its current value of roughly US$600 billion (HK$4.66 trillion), calling it the crown jewel of SoftBank's portfolio.