Tencent, the Chinese software and tech company, has announced its metaverse suite of services designed to target Asian markets. The company revealed that it will revamp its media offering with its new “metaverse-in-a-box” proposal, which aims to facilitate the task of building virtual worlds for third-party companies.
Tencent to Focus on Offering Metaverse Tools to Third Parties
Tencent, one of the biggest Chinese tech companies, has revealed its hand regarding the future of its metaverse strategy. The company announced that it will focus on offering “metaverse-in-a-box” services to its customers through its cloud division. This move, which comes as a complement to the media services offering that the company launched last year, aims to facilitate the task of developing virtual worlds for Tencent customers.
The tools launched by Tencent will reportedly be used to build and design these metaverse spaces by companies in gaming, media, entertainment, and retail, with various purposes in mind. Tencent aims to bring the services to customers in Asian markets, especially in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, which will experience significant growth in this area according to projections from the company.
Poshu Yeung, Tencent Cloud International’s senior vice president, stated:
With more businesses now keen to explore and adapt to an efficient, transparent digital future, we are ready to leverage our technical experience in the fields of games, audio, and video to provide technical support for Web3, and work with industry partners to create a more immersive experience and nurture a better Web3 ecosystem.
A Pivot to Software
Tencent’s new plans point to a pivot from pursuing a metaverse hardware business to focusing on what the company is known for: software development. While the company announced the creation of its extended reality unit in June 2022 — which would reportedly develop native hardware for experiencing virtual worlds — recent reports point in the direction of the cancellation of these initiatives, and the disbandment of this group.
Tencent dismissed reports of said disbandment of this division, but did state it was making adjustments to its staff due to a change of plans. Other Chinese companies are also in the process of making cuts in their metaverse-related division and groups, like Bytedance, which is the creator of the Pico line of virtual reality (VR) headsets.
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