Asian Tech Press (June 21) -- Tencent on Monday announced to its employees internally the official launch of its "extended reality (XR)" division, betting on the metaverse.

Three sources said Tencent set up the division earlier this year, but kept it under wraps.

The division, whose mission is to build an XR business for Tencent that includes software and hardware, will run under the leadership of Li Shen, Tencent Games Global's chief technology officer, and will be part of the company's Interactive Entertainment business group.

The division will eventually have more than 300 employees, a very large number considering the cost-cutting and slowing hiring Tencent has been doing, two sources said.

They also warned, however, that hiring plans remain uncertain, as the company will adjust the division's headcount based on performance.