Tencent has reportedly scrapped plans to launch its own VR hardware
But the company has denied claims that it’s disbanding its extended reality business unit
Tencent has reportedly scrapped plans to launch its own virtual reality hardware.
According to Reuters sources, the move comes as the world’s largest video games publisher by revenue plans to cut jobs at its extended reality unit, which was formed in June 2022 and employs some 300 people.
The report claims Tencent had come up with a concept for a ring-like handheld game controller for its VR hardware.
However, one source said the company decided to change its strategy because of the significant investment required to compete in the market and the fact that it didn’t expect to turn a profit until 2027.
Another source claimed Tencent had failed to come up with a decent number of promising games other applications.
While Tencent denied that it was disbanding its extended reality unit, it told Reuters it was making some personnel changes following a shift in hardware development plans.
Further reading
Review: PlayStation VR2 is an incredible headset, but with few killer games right now
Sony will launch PlayStation VR2 on February 22. Priced at $549.99 / €599.99 / £529.99, it includes the PS VR2 headset, Sense controllers and stereo headphones. The PS VR2 launch window line-up will consist of 37 games.
Bloomberg sources recently claimed that Sony had halved its launch projections for PS VR2 following disappointing pre-order numbers.
They claimed Sony’s shipment forecasts were cut from two million to one million units this quarter. In response, Sony issued a statement claiming it has “not cut PlayStation VR2 production numbers”.
