Rumor | First-gen Black Shark VR hardware is scrapped as Tencent declines to acquire the Android gaming smartphone brand

Black Shark had reportedly been building a team that might have brought the brand's often distinctive, gaming-focused design and penchant for top-end mobile specs to the VR gaming hardware arena in the near future. However, the prospect of any resulting possible oneday headsets is now apparently off the table, as the Xiaomi subsidiary is not going to a new owner after all.

"Numerous independent sources" now assure China Star Market that Tencent has decided to walk away from talks to buy Black Shark, in a deal that might have been worth ~US$420 million to Xiaomi.

As a result, the Android smartphone brand has had to let up to 50% of its employees go. The involuntary downsizing has apparently hit all departments within Black Shark, although its new VR arm is apparently hardest hit: most of its permanent staff has apparently been let go, while all of its provisional or probationary roles have been cut.

Meanwhile, Black Shark's more established line of mobile gaming flagships have bucked the trend in late 2022 as it has yet to produce intermediate upgrades powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. That move (or lack thereof) might be influenced by the reported failure to become a Tencent company, although it may yet be too early to say so for sure.

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