By CUI Peng
Chinese video game company miHoYo, developer of Genshin Impact, said on Tuesday that CAI Haoyu, one of the three founders of the company, is stepping down as president and fellow founder LIU Wei will take over. miHoYo said Cai will focus on new projects and "cutting-edge technology."
In 2012, three postgraduate students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei and Luo Haoyu founded miHoYo and has since released the "Honkai Impact" series, "Tears of Themis," and "Genshin Impact," along with the community app "Miyou."
miHoYo filed for a Shanghai IPO in 2017 and waited for three years. When Genshin Impact became one of the most popular video games around the world in 2020, the company withdrew its application, expanded quickly and now has more than 5,000 employees.
In this year's latest "Fortune China 40 Under 40" list and the "2023 Hurun Global Self-Made Billionaires Under 40" list by the Hurun Research Institute, all three co-founders feature, Cai 18th with 21 billion yuan, while Liu and Luo have around 11 billion yuan each.
In February 2022, miHoYo launched the global brand "Ho Yoverse." The studio has a presence in Los Angeles, Montreal and Singapore, among others.
Since last year, Cai has spent a lot of time in Singapore and Canada, with the company's daily management entrusted to Liu. miHoYo had previously indicated that Cai would be focusing more on the integration of resources in North America and on AI research.
Before Cai’s resignation, CHEN Zhiyi, the music director of Genshin Impact announced his departure. One of the key reasons for the immense popularity of "Genshin Impact" in the player community is its exceptional music content.
