‘Tencent scraps plans for VR headsets because they are not making profits fast enough’

Chinese tech giant Tencent has pulled the plug on plans for VR headsets. It would take too long for these glasses to be profitable and Tencent would have to invest too much in them first. That’s why it’s abandoning the project.

Worked at the VR branch according to Reuters sources almost three hundred people. The company had developed a concept for a ‘ring-shaped controller’, but did not expect the project to be profitable until 2027, according to Reuters. One of the sources also said that the business unit had difficulty developing games and other software. Due to these problems and the deteriorated economic prospects, Tencent is discontinuing its VR hardware plans, according to the sources. The company denies that the department will disappear, but says nothing about discontinuing VR headsets.

Bloomberg sources first spoke about Tencent’s VR plans early last year. Part of those plans included the alleged planned takeover of gaming smartphone maker Black Shark. As a result of this acquisition, Tencent expected to be able to deploy a thousand extra people to work on VR headsets, according to Reuters’ sources. In addition, Black Shark’s experience with the supply chain, among other things, would help it make headsets. However, Tencent halted that acquisition because the Chinese tech giant changed its strategy and the acquisition of Black Shark would take a lot of time due to increased supervision by authorities.