Lego and Tencent will develop games and videos for kids in China

Deal is latest in line of content partnerships for Tencent

Tencent

Andrew Barclay

Published: 4:30pm, 18 Jan 2018

Why you can trust SCMP

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Danish toy maker Lego and Tencent have announced they will build a partnership to develop games, videos and even a social network aimed at Chinese children.

As part of the deal, a Lego video zone for children will be hosted on Tencent’s popular video site. The partnership will also see the development of an online application that teaches kids to code.

But the part of the announcement that has garnered the most attention is the development of a Chinese version of Lego Life, which the company calls a “safe” social network for children. Already available in other countries, it allows children to share to Lego creations online.

Growing its presence in China, the world’s second largest market for toys and games, has long been a dream for the world’s biggest toymaker. Key to that is tapping into the country’s enormous number of young people: Chinese authorities say there are around 171 million people under the age of 19 online. That’s almost the same as the population of the UK, France and Spain combined.

This isn’t the first deal of its kind in China. Last year, toy company Mattel struck deals with e-commerce giant Alibaba to sell interactive learning products based on its Fisher-Price toys.

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.

Post