Tencent scraps VR hardware plans

Chinese megacorp Tencent has apparently scrapped plans to enter the VR market. 

Reuters reports that Tencent - which is the world's largest video game publisher in terms of revenue - is set to "cut costs and headcount" at its "extended reality" XR unit, which only launched last year. It currently employs around 300 people.

Anonymous sources suggest that the delay in hitting a profit - in this case, internal forecasting reckons Tencent's system would not be profitable until 2027 - and a lack of "promising games" has seen the company u-turn on its VR plans, despite designing a ring-like hand-held controller.

"Under the company's new strategy as a whole, it no longer quite fit in," one of the sources said.

With the cost of VR still pretty high, it's a shame we won't see Tencent bring its own system to light any time soon, as the more competition there is, the better the choice - and affordability - for players. 

Whilst Blizzard’s spat with its Chinese publisher NetEase continues, Tencent has announced a new MMO… and it certainly has fans talking about its similarities with WoW. 

As we've noticed in the recently released promotional material, Tarisland leans into fantasy, though WoW fans are zeroing in on the character and airship design alongside several choice shots from cinematics. Interestingly, fans have also clocked that one dragon looks a fair bit like Deathwing, and whilst the comparisons are chiefly aesthetic at the moment, some might also find the sight of dragon-riding familiar – including Blizzard itself, apparently. 

While it seems that Tarisland has taken some notes from World of Warcraft, others have noted that Blizzard’s MMO has borrowed plenty from D&D and beyond. 

Tarisland is currently undergoing a closed beta and is set to release on PC and mobile. At the time of writing, it isn’t clear if the MMO will make the journey west.

Keep up to date with all the best games set to launch later this year with our guide to new games 2023.