Over the past year, we've seen an explosion in the number of cloud gaming services. One of the key barriers to entry for gaming was the necessity of a powerful gaming PC or console. Services such as Google Stadia, Project Xcloud, and Geforce Now let just about anyone play popular AAA titles on seemingly underpowered PCs. The idea has potential, but lacks implementation, as we've seen with the Google Stadia launch debacle. It was only a matter of time before Chinese companies stepped into this market. A report by Reuters states that Tencent is working with Huawei to develop a cloud gaming service.
Tencent's experience in the gaming industry combined with Huawei's hardware expertise will make for a formidable partnership. The service will reportedly be called GameMatrix and will leverage the power of Huawei's Kunpeng series of processors. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up against the competition that uses hardware from more mainstream vendors such as AMD and Intel. GameMatrix will very likely make its debut in China and stay exclusive to the region for a period of time. Tencent and Huawei will likely use this opportunity to iron out any kinks in the service before rolling it out worldwide.
Last year, Tencent even partnered up with Razer to 'optimize' content for Razer's series of gaming phones. Tencent has a stake in a lot of popular titles such as Riot's League of Legends, Epic Games' Fortnite, Supercell's Clash of Clans, and more. It's own titles —PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile— are massively popular, too. Tencent's vast library of content will give it a significant advantage over existing competition.
There is no word as to when GameMatrix will be available. It could be months, even years before we get to see it in action.
