Games to kick off Tencent's cultural collaboration with UK government
Chinese giant will also work with British firms on film, television and high-end art
Tencent has signed an agreement with the UK's Deparment for International Trade to work closer with creative firms across Britain.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at a ceremony in London this morning, and will see the Chinese behemoth collaborate with a variety of companies across the UK's cultural creative industries, including the BBC, British Fashion Council, British Tourist Authority and more.
The agreement has a broad remit, but three areas were identified for the initial phase: video games, film and television, and high-end art.
In terms of games projects, Tencent will be taking some of its biggest IP and re-appropriating them for a UK audience in order to grow its userbase.
The first example is a collaboration with the British Tourist Authority, which will seen Tencent develop and release a UK version of QQ Speed Mobile Game, a racing title that has already racked up 100 million users and 20 million DAUs since launching last year. The UK version will include new tracks, music, characters and costumes that tune in to British culture.
Tencent's esports arm will also work with the University of Oxford to create courses and run tournaments that will grow the esports industry within the UK.
The Chinese firm's collaboration with Oxford's famous university also extends to research on quantum computing and other new technologies. There were announcements about collaborations with other companies on AI research, although these appear to be centred around the tech's use in healthcare.
"Openness, partnership and sharing at a global level have become our common vision for the future of human development in this digital era, within this context, the Memorandum of Cooperation to be signed between Tencent and the UK Department for International Trade is of great significance," said Tencent's senior executive vice president Seng Yee Lau.
"The culture and technology industries in the United Kingdom are well recognized around the world, and we believe that there will be a lot of collaboration opportunities in the future. Imagine a time, not long from now, when the empowering nature of digitization is available to everyone in the world. What we are doing today is a first step towards making that image a reality."