Parent company of Riot Games, Tencent, has launched a new piece of hardware called the TGP (Tencent Games Platform) box. Acting a little like a Steam machine that runs Windows 10, the system offers Chinese gamers the chance to play popular games like League of Legends, without requiring a gaming PC to do it.

The TGP Box is a reasonably low-end system when it comes to gaming hardware, featuring a Core i3 or i5 CPU – though it's not clear which generation – according to PCGamesN. Graphically it has a GTX 750 Ti and is paired up with just 128GB of SSD storage space. Still, it is only £425, so it's hardly going to break the bank. It comes with a controller too, so is very much a self contained system.

The TGP Box will only be available in China and is aimed at attracting more players to League of Legends, which over the past few years Tencent and Riot have turned into the most popular game in the world. We learned just a couple of week's ago that it has over 100 million active players and Tencent seems keen to continue that growth.

This is Tencent's TGP box.

It's like a Steam machine that runs Tencent games- pic.twitter.com/bTzqGJH3PH

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) September 23, 2016

Perhaps this console will appeal to those who can't afford a high-end gaming PC, or simply feel more comfortable with a console set up.

The TGP box will not be launching overseas, so don't get your hopes up of buying one if indeed you liked the idea of the overpriced little system. Never fear though, there are plenty of alternatives at that price point. In fact you can likely make something far better with a bit of ingenuity.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I really don't know how competitive players will be at League of Legends using a controller, that game really requires the precision and speed of mouse and keyboard commands. The TGP box can play other games since it's built on Windows 10, but LoL is what Tencent is aiming for it seems.

Image source: Daniel Ahmad/Twitter

Become a Patron!