Tencent Holdings is in talks with Meta Platforms to distribute its Meta Quest line of digital actuality headsets in China, three individuals accustomed to the matter mentioned.
The talks between Tencent and Meta began final yr and have continued in current months, in line with one of many sources who has direct information of the matter, including that the talks stay early stage and particulars have but to be agreed.
Tencent and Meta didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon Tuesday. The individuals declined to be recognized as a result of the talks are usually not public.
Chinese language media outlet 36Kr and the Wall Road Journal reported the discussions earlier.
Tencent, the world’s largest online game writer, had formidable plans to construct each digital actuality software program and {hardware} at an “prolonged actuality” XR unit it launched in June final yr amid swelling world curiosity within the metaverse idea of a digital world.
However Reuters reported final week that it had determined to give up growing its personal XR {hardware} due partly to profitability points, and informed most workers within the unit to seek out alternatives elsewhere.
Tencent mentioned on the time it was making changes to some enterprise groups as improvement plans for {hardware} had modified
Considered one of its fundamental rivals in China’s digital actuality house is TikTok proprietor ByteDance, which owns headset producer Pico.
Tencent is usually identified for software program that features a suite of video games and social media functions. It sells the Nintendo Change console in China via a partnership with the Japanese gaming agency established 4 years in the past.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
