Image Source: Visual China

Beijing, June 21 (TMTPOST) — Chinese Internet giant Tencent has established a dedicated team for the metaverse business, Reuters reported, quoting three sources familiar with the matter.

Tencent reportedly announced on Monday to its staff that the company had started an extended reality (XR) department to explore the metaverse. It is said that the new team already has 300 members.

Tencent declined to comment on this matter.

XR is the concept of combining reality with virtual reality by using computers. It aims to build a virtual environment where users can interact with virtual technologies. XR covers the concepts of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) which are considered as the building blocks of the metaverse.

The three insiders told Reuters that the XR department was already established earlier this year. Its existence had been kept as a secret. The XR department is tasked with the responsibilities of building an XR business that covers both software and hardware for Tencent. The department is spearheaded by Tencent Games’ Vice President Shen Li and is part of Tencent’s Interactive Entertainment Group.

This recent development suggests that Tencent might enter XR hardware business, which is rare because Tencent hardly touches any hardware business.

An insider revealed that the XR department is considered internally as Tencent founder and CEO Pony Ma’s “project out of passion”.

Tencent’s XR department is expected to have more than 300 members, according to insiders familiar with the matter. However, there are still many uncertainties with the recruitment plan. Tencent will adjust the size of the department in accordance with its performance.

Tencent’s Robotics X Lab and F1 Studio are also involved with metaverse-related projects. 

Other Internet giants in China are also eyeing the metaverse industry. TikTok's parent company ByteDance for instance had acquired the biggest VR software and hardware developer Pico at nine billion yuan in August 2021.