Tencent Unveils Special Unit to Address the Metaverse Market

The Chinese tech and entertainment giant, Tencent, has unveiled a specialized team to drive its Metaverse growth. Christened the Extended Reality Unit, the team will spearhead all metaverse-development efforts. The tasks include both software and hardware developments.

The Official Unveiling

As reported, Tencent plans to recruit more than 300 people into the Extended Reality Unit. The company is set to give it priority even as it affects cost-cutting plans. 

Tencent is one of the biggest software companies in China. The latest step it has taken to get into the metaverse space is a huge one. The announcement of the Extended Reality Unit sent a significant wave in China’s tech ecosystem.

The unit will cover all aspects of the company’s plan and goals. The ultimate result aimed to land Tencent into the metaverse-centered market.

The Extended reality Unit is set to be headed by Li Shen. Shen is currently the Global Chief Technology Officer at Tencent. He will also be a part of the entertainment arm of the company.

It is currently not clear in which direction the company will go in. Sources, however, say that Tencent will be making both hardware and software for the metaverse.

Tencent is hypothetically set to produce XI and AR hardware. This means the company will become a viable competition for companies like Microsoft and Meta.

Adding More Weight

Tencent did not create the Extended Reality as just another unit in its structure. The unit has presumably been under the sheets since the beginning of this year. Tencent plans that more than 300 people will work there on different projects.

This says a lot about the premium Tencent places on the metaverse and Extended Reality Unit. It is going ahead with the plans despite the company’s austerity measures. The company has also slowed down hiring as a result of poor macroeconomic conditions.

It is said that the new unit is a passion project of Tencent’s founders. Sources, however, have said this plan could still change in the future depending on the performance.

Other companies such as Meta are equally investing heavily in metaverse platforms and devices. There is a race to gain the upper hand with regard to metaverse software and hardware. Each company plans to be the first to have a coordinated virtual reality platform.

A Call for Metaverse Standardization

Meta, however, recently agreed that such a move will make them lose money in the R&D aspect. There have also been efforts to come up with a standard for the Metaverse. Microsoft, Meta, Epic Games and others opened the Metaverse Standard Forum.   

The idea behind such a forum is information gathering from open-source activities. It would help to coordinate established and jointly created standards for metaverse platforms.

According to the MSF website, it was the idea of industry leaders to establish it. It says the potentials of the metaverse can be better realized if built on open standards.