image: Roblox

Roblox — a gaming platform for kids valued at $2.5 billion — has formed a strategic partnership with Chinese gaming giant Tencent to crack the country’s market. With this partnership, both companies are establishing a joint venture “with an initial focus on education to teach coding fundamentals, game design, digital citizenship, and entrepreneurial skills.” The partnership doesn’t directly involve taking Roblox’s gaming platform to China although that’s likely the end goal.

Forming a partnership with one of the biggest names in China gives Roblox an edge in the case of entry into the country, the world’s biggest gaming market. Roblox and Tencent’s joint venture will be based in Shenzhen but has not yet been named. To kick off the JV’s education aspect, both companies have set up a scholarship fund to sponsor 15 persons from China to attend week-long “creator camps” at Stanford University by summer.

Roblox CEO David Baszucki image: Roblox

The summer program will be taught by iD Tech, a top summer computer camp held at more than 150 U.S. colleges and universities. Attendees will learn game design, create 3D worlds, and practice programming basics using Lua code and Roblox developer tools. The first camp will run the week of July 23 with a second session scheduled for the week of August 18.

There are also plans for future programs that’ll include local coding camps and training programs for instructors to build “customized educational experiences” for students.

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