Chinese technology giants now venture towards the Metaverse, an immersive virtual world where online users can interact.
Top companies like Tencent, NetEase, ByteDance, and Alibaba hint to be the front-runners in this space.
Experts noted that the total addressable market for the said space could be around $8.00 trillion in China.
Last November, Tencent Chief Pony Ma stated that the Metaverse could fuel growth in the gaming industry.
Tencent is currently the world’s largest gaming company with a powerful desktop and mobile games portfolio.
Additionally, the firm owns WeChat, a multipurpose messaging service with over a billion users.
On the other hand, internet firm ByteDance marked an aggressive expansion into gaming over the previous year.
Last August, it purchased virtual reality headset maker Pico, laying foundations in VR, social media, and gaming.
ByteDance also owns TikTok, a famous video-focused social networking service.
Moreover, NetEase, another Chinese tech giant, has reportedly set up a base in the southern province of Hainan. The facility intends to focus on the development of metaverse applications.
At the same time, e-commerce business Alibaba mentioned its plans to launch augmented reality glasses for virtual meetings this year.
It also unveiled a “virtual influencer” named Dong Dong for the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Furthermore, search firm Baidu initiated a metaverse application tagged as XiRang. The app offers a virtual world that can hold up to 100,000 participants.
However, company executives downplayed expectations from the app, citing that it could be another six years until a full launch.
On the other hand, American businesses like Facebook parent Meta went all into the Metaverse concept.
In addition, Microsoft has positioned itself to acquire gaming company, Activision Blizzard, as a play on this theme.
Chinese Tech Giants Spot Beijing Regulation
Meanwhile, Chinese tech giants took a cautious approach towards the Metaverse as they looked into possible government regulations.
The push came after an intense year of regulatory scrutiny on the technology sector of the world’s second-largest economy.
Accordingly, there are new proposed anti-monopoly laws for internet platforms.
Then, the country also passed the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) last August 2021.
The regulation lays out a comprehensive set of rules around data collection, which could impact the operations of tech companies.
Consequently, Chinese regulators have reduced the allowed online gaming time of players under 18 years of age.
The government also continues to censor content on its tightly controlled internet.
In line with this, analysts expect these existing pieces of legislation to regulate Metaverse applications as well.
