Despite bleeding billions over a couple of years, Facebook parent company Meta has been injecting cash in its metaverse project, which includes manufacturing and selling VR headsets. The company may now have a chance to boost the sales of the niche gear by selling it in China.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Meta has struck a preliminary deal with Chinese conglomerate and video-game maker Tencent to sell a new, lower-priced version of its virtual-reality headset in China.This move means that Meta will re-enter the country with its product and services 14 years after it was shut out.
“The agreement with Tencent Holdings will make the world’s largest video game company the exclusive seller of Meta’s headsets in China,” the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Tencent will reportedly start selling the headset beginning late 2024 and the report did not mention the potential price of the headset.
Why this is significant
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are among social media platforms that were blocked in the country in mid-2009 following riots in the western province of Xinjiang. Authorities claimed that the riots were abetted by the social networking sites.
The VR deal gives Meta a chance to return to the Chinese market and compete with TikTok-owner Bytedance, which makes the VR headset Pico. Reportedly, Meta plans to use lenses in the headset that are cheaper than those in the recently-launched Quest 3 and this particular version will also be sold in other markets.
The report added that Meta will take a major share of device sales, while Tencent will keep content and service revenue.
VR headsets have been around for some time now and earlier this year, Apple launched the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Meta has struck a preliminary deal with Chinese conglomerate and video-game maker Tencent to sell a new, lower-priced version of its virtual-reality headset in China.This move means that Meta will re-enter the country with its product and services 14 years after it was shut out.
“The agreement with Tencent Holdings will make the world’s largest video game company the exclusive seller of Meta’s headsets in China,” the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Tencent will reportedly start selling the headset beginning late 2024 and the report did not mention the potential price of the headset.
Why this is significant
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are among social media platforms that were blocked in the country in mid-2009 following riots in the western province of Xinjiang. Authorities claimed that the riots were abetted by the social networking sites.
The VR deal gives Meta a chance to return to the Chinese market and compete with TikTok-owner Bytedance, which makes the VR headset Pico. Reportedly, Meta plans to use lenses in the headset that are cheaper than those in the recently-launched Quest 3 and this particular version will also be sold in other markets.
The report added that Meta will take a major share of device sales, while Tencent will keep content and service revenue.
VR headsets have been around for some time now and earlier this year, Apple launched the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset.
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