Tencent latest tech giant to slash metaverse hardware plans: Reuters

Tencent became the latest tech giant to scale back its bet on the metaverse, as it rolled back plans to create virtual reality hardware, according to a Reuters report. 

This translates as headcount and cost cuts in its metaverse unit, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. 

The Chinese conglomerate had previously laid out plans to build both software and hardware for the nascent industry, hiring about 300 people to realize that goal. The unit launched in June and was dubbed the "extended reality" (XR) part of the business. Tencent said that it is not disbanding the unit completely. 

The need to achieve profitability and the need for a big investment were among reasons for the cuts, the report said. 

The move comes following a widespread reckoning among establishment tech players' ambitions to grab market share in virtual worlds. 

In January it was revealed that Microsoft would also sunset some of its VR products as metaverse-adjacent teams bore the brunt of job cuts announced earlier in the month. 

Read more: In Apple and Meta's fight for VR-AR dominance, an open metaverse may be collateral damage