"Big Banks" Citigroup: Google's Bard Project Has Limited Impact on Tencent

AASTOCKS
2026.02.03 07:33

Citi released a research report indicating that the market is concerned that Google's "Project Spirit" (a world-generative AI) launched on January 30 may have led to the sell-off of U.S. gaming stocks last Friday, and whether it will also negatively impact Chinese gaming companies. The firm believes the impact on the Chinese gaming industry is limited; in fact, the potential success of "Project Spirit" should have a positive effect on Tencent's (00700.HK) "Hunyuan World Model 1.5" and Tencent's mini-game ecosystem.

Unless users choose to use a VPN, Google services (including AI Ultra) are unavailable in China, so the release of "Project Spirit" itself should not affect how Chinese gaming users play games. More importantly, for Chinese game developers or users interested in trying similar virtual world creation experiences, Citi believes that WeChat's mini-game ecosystem should be the most relevant platform, integrating WorldPlay, social interaction, and robust game distribution/sharing capabilities. Tencent reiterates a "Buy" rating

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