In a strategic move to re-enter the Chinese market, Meta Platforms has forged a preliminary deal with Tencent Holdings to introduce a new, budget-friendly virtual reality (VR) headset exclusively in China. With Facebook and Instagram remaining inaccessible in the country, Meta aims to capitalize on the collaboration with Tencent, making them the exclusive distributor of Meta’s headsets in China starting late 2024, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. This strategic partnership allows Meta to compete with rivals like TikTok-owner Bytedance, which currently dominates the Chinese VR market with its headset Pico. The upcoming Meta headset for China will feature cost-effective lenses, a departure from the high-end lenses in Meta’s Quest 3, and will also be made available in other global markets, marking a significant step in Meta’s expansion into the rapidly evolving VR landscape.
The collaboration outlines a distribution model where Meta will claim a larger share of device sales, while Tencent focuses on content and service revenue. The affordable headset will offer a range of games and applications published by Tencent, enhancing the overall user experience. This agreement not only presents a promising opportunity for Meta to regain a foothold in China but also underscores the competitive dynamics unfolding in the global VR market, where Meta’s Quest series stands as a current bestseller in the nascent VR space.