- Tencent has scrapped developing a specialized metaverse ring controller.
- The company’s interest in the field was reignited in 2021.
Tencent one of the largest Chinese tech firms has laid off around 300 employees from its respective metaverse development teams. Tencent, well renowned for its software business, is presently abandoning its aspirations to enter the metaverse hardware sector. Which will have an impact on hundreds of workers.
Local news sources report that the corporation informed more than 300 workers that its extended reality division, which was responsible for creating metaverse products, would be shut down. The corporation denied disbanding the aforementioned group but did disclose it was making personnel changes due to altered intentions.
Tencent has been developing a specialized metaverse ring controller. However, they scrapped the project owing to the high cost involved and the poor profitability prediction.
As, per a Reuters report, a source claims that Tencent briefly explored virtual reality about seven years ago. But that the company’s interest in the field was reignited in 2021. Thanks to developments in pancake lenses and higher-resolution screens. The individual said that the popularity of the Meta Quest headset also had a role.
Major Corporations Reduce Staff
Pico, the hardware section of Bytedance’s metaverse headset business, is also struggling and has announced plans to lay off hundreds of workers. The South China Morning Post reports that the corporation plans to lay off as much as 30 percent of its workforce across all departments.
The timing of these reports is interesting since there is now an international drive to have major corporations reduce their efforts in developing hardware and software based on the metaverse in order to save money. The Western IT giants Microsoft and Meta have also taken similar measures.
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