Tencent, Logitech Launch G Cloud Handheld Gaming Console

Chinese tech giant Tencent, which is also the world’s biggest gaming company by revenue, is to enter the handheld console market in a collaboration with Logitech.

Best known for its computer peripherals, Swiss-American firm Logitech collaborated with Tencent to produce the Logitech G Cloud handheld gaming device, set to arrive next month.

Logitech gaming general manager Ujesh Desai said the company had challenged itself to build a device that was “perfectly optimised for cloud gaming”.

“This meant precision controls – similar to a high-end Xbox controller – a large HD screen, amazing battery life and lightweight design so players can enjoy long gaming sessions, without any compromises,” he said.

Cloud gaming

The device, which competes with the Nintendo Switch and Valve’s Steam Deck, runs on Android and focuses on game streaming over Wi-Fi via streaming services such as Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now.

It also allows gamers to access Steam games via the Steam Link app, in addition to existing Android games via the Google Play app store.

The Steam Deck, which launched in February, offers a full-featured PC-like handheld gaming experience but has drawbacks such as short battery life, Logitech executives said.

By comparison, they estimated the Steam Deck should deliver up to 12 hours of cloud gameplay.

Connectivity

The device is also about 30 percent lighter than the Steam Deck, weighing 463g compared to about 669g for the Steam Deck.

The G Cloud also competes with gaming controllers that attach directly to a phone, but Logitech said the G Cloud’s 7-inch screen is larger than that of most phones and that it believes users would prefer to have a separate gaming device.

Industry watchers criticised the fact that the G Cloud offers only Wi-Fi connectivity, without cellular data, and said its $350 (£320) price tag is comparable to a low-end Steam Deck, which starts at $399 and ranges up to $649.

Tencent has been expanding into areas such as virtual reality, creating an “extended reality” (XR) division in June with plans to build both hardware and software for the “metaverse“.