The world's largest video game publisher had ambitious plans to build both virtual reality software and hardware at an \"extended reality\" XR unit it launched in June last year for which it hired nearly 300 people.
It had come up with a concept for a ring-like hand-held game controller, but difficulties in achieving quick profitability and the large investment needed to produce a competitive product were among factors that prompted a shift away from that strategy, two of the sources said.
One of the sources said the XR project was not expected to become profitable until 2027, according to an internal forecast.
\"Under the company's new strategy as a whole, it no longer quite fit in,\" the source said.
Earlier in the year, Tencent<\/a> had also planned to buy gaming phone maker Black Shark to beef up its hardware push and add 1,000 people to the unit.
However, it eventually walked away from that deal due to Tencent's shift in strategy as well as mounting regulatory scrutiny and an expected lengthy review process, one source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The sources said that Tencent had advised most of the unit's staff to seek other opportunities, confirming a Thursday report from Chinese tech news outlet 36Kr.
Tencent declined to comment on the Black Shark deal and whether Beijing's scrutiny had soured the deal. Regarding the status of XR unit, the company referred to a statement to Reuters on Thursday that said it was making adjustments to some business teams as development plans for hardware had changed.
The company also said on Thursday that it was not disbanding the XR unit.
The formation of the XR unit came amid swelling global interest in the metaverse concept of virtual worlds and had marked a rare foray into hardware for Tencent, which is mostly known for software that includes a suite of games and social media applications.
It also entered into a race against Western peers such as Meta Platforms<\/a> and Microsoft<\/a>, which are building their own metaverses and have their own virtual reality hardware projects.
Last year marked one of the toughest years for Tencent since its founding in 1998, with revenue battered by a regulatory crackdown and headwinds from measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Underlining such strains, its founder Pony Ma in December displayed a rare show of frustration at a year-end meeting when he lambasted senior managers for not working hard enough and said the company needed to focus on short video for future growth.
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腾讯碎片虚拟现实硬件metaverse打赌萎靡不振的计划
世界上最大的视频游戏出版商雄心勃勃的计划构建虚拟现实软件和硬件在一个“扩展现实”XR单位去年6月推出它雇佣了将近300人。
腾讯控股是放弃计划进军虚拟现实硬件,是一个发人深省的经济前景促使中国科技巨头削减成本和裁员的metaverse单位,三个知情人士说。
世界上最大的视频游戏出版商雄心勃勃的计划构建虚拟现实软件和硬件在一个“扩展现实”XR单位去年6月推出它雇佣了将近300人。
已经想出一个环状的手持游戏控制器的概念,但是难以实现快速盈利,需要很大的投资产生竞争产品等因素促使这一策略的转变,两位消息人士说。
一个消息人士称XR项目直到2027年才有望实现盈利,据内部预测。
“在公司的新战略作为一个整体,它不再适合,”该消息人士称。
今年早些时候,腾讯还计划购买游戏手机制造商黑鲨鱼扩充硬件并添加1000人推到单位。
然而,它最终退出了交易由于腾讯的战略转变以及越来越多的监管审查和预期的冗长的审查过程,一个源有直接了解的人士说。
消息人士称,腾讯已经建议的大部分单位的员工寻求其他机会,确认周四的一份报告来自中国科技新闻出口36氪。乐动扑克
腾讯拒绝评论黑鲨鱼交易和北京的审查是否恶化。关于XR单位的地位,该公司称为路透周四发表声明说,这是进行调整,一些业务团队作为硬件开发计划已经改变了。
公司周四表示,它不是解散XR单元。
XR单位之际,肿胀的形成全球兴趣metaverse虚拟世界的概念,标志着一个罕见的为腾讯进军硬件,大部分是出名的软件,包括一套游戏和社交媒体的应用程序。
它也进入一个与西方同行赛跑等元平台和微软,建立自己的metaverse和有自己的虚拟现实硬件项目。
去年标志着最艰难的年份之一腾讯自1998年成立以来,与收入受到阻力与监管措施阻止COVID-19的传播。
强调这样的菌株,其创始人马化腾显示12月年终会议上一个罕见的挫折时,他痛斥高级管理人员由于工作不够努力,表示,该公司需要为未来的增长集中在短片。
世界上最大的视频游戏出版商雄心勃勃的计划构建虚拟现实软件和硬件在一个“扩展现实”XR单位去年6月推出它雇佣了将近300人。
已经想出一个环状的手持游戏控制器的概念,但是难以实现快速盈利,需要很大的投资产生竞争产品等因素促使这一策略的转变,两位消息人士说。
一个消息人士称XR项目直到2027年才有望实现盈利,据内部预测。
“在公司的新战略作为一个整体,它不再适合,”该消息人士称。
今年早些时候,腾讯还计划购买游戏手机制造商黑鲨鱼扩充硬件并添加1000人推到单位。
然而,它最终退出了交易由于腾讯的战略转变以及越来越多的监管审查和预期的冗长的审查过程,一个源有直接了解的人士说。
消息人士称,腾讯已经建议的大部分单位的员工寻求其他机会,确认周四的一份报告来自中国科技新闻出口36氪。乐动扑克
腾讯拒绝评论黑鲨鱼交易和北京的审查是否恶化。关于XR单位的地位,该公司称为路透周四发表声明说,这是进行调整,一些业务团队作为硬件开发计划已经改变了。
公司周四表示,它不是解散XR单元。
XR单位之际,肿胀的形成全球兴趣metaverse虚拟世界的概念,标志着一个罕见的为腾讯进军硬件,大部分是出名的软件,包括一套游戏和社交媒体的应用程序。
它也进入一个与西方同行赛跑等元平台和微软,建立自己的metaverse和有自己的虚拟现实硬件项目。
去年标志着最艰难的年份之一腾讯自1998年成立以来,与收入受到阻力与监管措施阻止COVID-19的传播。
强调这样的菌株,其创始人马化腾显示12月年终会议上一个罕见的挫折时,他痛斥高级管理人员由于工作不够努力,表示,该公司需要为未来的增长集中在短片。
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